THIS ARTICLE IS A MUST READ: SURVIVING AND THRIVING AGAINST THE ODDS. Fanatic [Israeli] settlers destroyed 250 olive trees, recounted Daoud Nassar, the fourth-oldest in the family. When faced with such violence, Daoud explained, you could respond in three ways. You can react violently, an eye for an eye, creating a never-ending cycle of violence. You can resign, sit down and cry, and run the risk of wallowing in your victimhood forever. Or you can run away. For us, theres a fourth thing, that we refuse to be victims, he said. We refuse to hate. No one can force us to hate. Its easy to say; difficult to live, of course. For us, it is very difficult not to hate the situation like this. But for us we are trying to distinguish between hating the other, and not accepting their actions, he said. So we started a new way of action, which is to create a positive, nonviolent way of resistance under the title We refuse to be enemies, Daoud told a group of U.S. Christian pilgrims from the Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy who visited the Nassar family farm in June. Our way of action is that we cannot overcome evil with more evil, we cannot overcome hatred with more hatred, Daoud said. This is our nonviolent, Christian way of resistance. Its not a passive way; its an active way. We created this culture called the Tent of Nations, and its a family. ... We are trying to channel this negative energy in a constructive way. The family couldnt get permits for running water, so they built 15 cisterns, enough to hold 200,000 gallons of water during a good rainy season, which is sufficient for a year. They also couldnt get permits for electricity, so volunteers helped them install solar panels. The Tent of Nations hosts regular international volunteers to help them run a summer camp for 50-80 Christian and Muslim Palestinian children. They teach music, theater, art and environmental awareness, trying to bring traumatized children optimism and encouragement. This year, they worried that the political situation would leave parents too scared to send their children to camp. We thought about canceling, but we thought if we cancel it, well be more frustrated with the situation, well be just sitting and waiting, and this is not good, Daoud said. The camp went forward with 20 children. They also have other projects: Daouds wife, Jihan, a computer teacher, directs a womens support group that brings computer literacy and English classes to 15 women in the nearby Arab village of Nihilin. They host peace groups, such as the Israeli-Palestinian dialogue organization Encounter, trying to help Israelis understand their political reality from a human perspective. And they share their story of active, peaceful resistance, dozens of times each month, with Christian visitors from around the world. Sometimes people visiting the Holy Land run from dead stone to dead stone, Daoud told the group from Cincinnati. But the tomb is dead. It is empty. We are glad youre here to see the living stones.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 15:54:59 +0000
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