Wi'am

"A country is not only what it does, but it is what it tolerates."

-Kurt Tucholsky

Wi'am was one of the first places that we stopped on our journey throughout Israel and Palestine. As soon as we stepped off the bus, we were met by armed Palestinian guards and young boys trying to sell us postcards to commemorate our visit. Walking into the gates of the organization, jammed up against the wall that separates Palestine (occupied territory) and Israel, I knew this place would be of interest to my passions and my project. What processes fell under their title of "Palestinian Conflict Resolution Center"?

While the leader of the organization called for us to form a circle with our chairs, another young man of the organization offered tea or coffee to those who would accept. (Later I found that offering tea or coffee was a sign of hospitality.) Pointing to the Kurt Tucholsky quote, as mentioned above, on the wall behind our now large circle, the speaker said, "By your presence you are working for a culture of acceptance." Our presence in this place was a living example of standing against the hatred and violence that the country of Israel has projected on the people of Palestine? I was intrigued. 

In this conversation with the people of Wi'am, new facts about the relationship between Israel and Palestine were surfacing. 

• 28 camps in the West Bank/Gaza Strip
• 541 villages were leveled

Although hearing facts like these were crucial for deepening my understanding of the conflict, I did not move to the edge of my seat until the speaker began talking about the role of the organization in the community. "We [Wi'am] are transforming the garbage of anger into a constructive way that does not generate hate," said the Director. 

Wi'am is a Palestinian Christian organization working to create a culture of peace between Palestinian people. Working to shift away from blame to collective responsibility, Wi'am works within the Palestinian community to resolve disputes among their people. Using traditional native forms of conflict resolution, as well as Western ideas, Wi'am is using "arms of dialogue" and not "dialogue of arms" to help neighbors understand each other on a deeper level. 

Fascinated by the idea that Wi'am is working internally with the Palestinian people, I am now curious as to how the internal transformation of individuals could eventually transpire externally. Do the people that Wi'am work with have new insights into relational living? Have they begun to see their neighbors in a different way? Have they begun to understand one another on a deeper level by forming Wi'am, or cordial relationships? If so, how can the practice of forming these relationship with one another eventually extend into the formation of relationship with the Israeli people?

Can changing the way we view people in our personal conflict, for example, by rehumanizing them, begin to change the way in which we live with all people of the world?