#5 | Zoughbi Zoughbi: A Palestinian Leader Resisting Occupation Through Non-violence
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In Episode #5 of "How We Change the World", Palestinian leader Zoughbi Zoughbi talks about his decades of work teaching conflict transformation to other Palestinians and practicing what he terms “un-armed resistance” against the Israeli occupation. Zoughbi is the founding director of Wi’am: The Palestinian Conflict Transformation Center, located in the city of Bethlehem, Palestine.
In this conversation, Zoughbi speaks to the difficulty of living under occupation his entire life, and the hardship it creates for his community and his own family. He addresses the impact such a violent and restricted life has on the hearts and minds of Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem. Under these circumstances, he explains, PTSD does not exist, because there is no post-trauma, only on-going trauma.
The Wi’am Center works to solve internal conflict in the Palestinian community, with a special emphasis on youth and empowering women and ending domestic violence. They also engage in international diplomacy, working to end conflict not only between Israelis and Palestinians, but in areas of conflict around the world.
“We are not only looking for Palestine to be free of the occupation, we want to work for justice everywhere. As Martin Luther King said, ‘Any injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’”
With a master’s degree in Conflict Resolution from Notre Dame University, and thirty years leading Wi’am, Zoughbi was recently elected President of the highly regarded International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR), representing forty countries and every continent.
Recognized globally for his stand against violence and his peaceful approach to reconciliation for over thirty years, Zoughbi is an inspiration not only to other Palestinians, but also to the thousands of international visitors who flock to Bethlehem to learn from him. Wi’am is located adjacent to the thirty-foot cement barrier that separates Israelis and Palestinians. He considers this close proximity of “the wall” to their center for peace and diplomacy, with its gardens and playground and meeting spaces, as one way of demonstrating non-violent protest.
CONTACT ZOUGHBI ZOUGHBI & THE WI’AM CENTER:
✨ Website: WI’AM: THE PALESTINIAN CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION CENTER
✨ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wiamcenter
✨ Instagram: @wiamcenter
