Nonviolence International Canada

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Thursday, December 19, 2024,

8am Vancouver, 11am Ottawa, 5pm Geneva, 7pm Damascus

Join us on Thursday, December 19, for a special webinar that delves into the future of a free Syria in a post-regime era.  Speakers will include long time Syrian activists Rafif Jouejati (NVI board chair), and Sweida activist Noura Salam.

The collapse of the Assad regime on December 8, 2024, is of historic significance: it marks the end of more than half a century of authoritarian oppression, during which countless thousands of Syrians were disappeared, tortured, or killed by their own government.

Since 2011 and as part of the Arab Spring movements, Syrians have experienced both nonviolent and armed resistance. Upwards of 400,000 civilians were killed; millions of others were internally displaced or became refugees.

Today, with liberation from the Assad regime, the future of Syria is hopeful but unclear as the transition period begins. Outside governments continue to  interfere in Syria’s affairs with sanctions, troops, attacks, and weaponry.

Join our  Syrian nonviolent activists as they talk about their experience and their hopes and plans, register here to be part of this important conversation!. This webinar is anopportunity to gain deep insights from sources who have played an important part in the struggle against tyranny and who offer valuable knowledge so you, as part of the global family committed to peace and justice, can contribute to Syria’s bright future. 

We hope you will leave the webinar with a clearer idea as to how you, as part of the global family committed to peace and justice, can contribute to Syria’s bright future.

With faith in a free and just Syria,

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Bashar al-Assad has been thrown out of power by his own people. His authoritarian government has collapsed not only due to an armed offensive, but also, since 2011, from a significant and long term element of nonviolent people power. The refusal of the soldiers of the Army to fight, due to widespread popular uprisings around the country and disgust of the regime was crucial to its swift collapse. The loss of its foreign backers also played an important role.

We want to honor and remember the many fearless activists in Syria who have suffered so much torture, imprisonment and repression. Their achievement will inspire others around the world.

We want to thank those in our Nonviolence International family who have helped lead nonviolent resistance in Syria.

Nonviolence International US board chair, Rafif Jouejati, spent the last 13 years working to support the Syrian women’s movement and nonviolent resistance. With inspiration and support from Nonviolence International , she co-founded the Foundation to Restore Equality and Education in Syria (FREE Syria), and was the principal architect of the Syrian Freedom Charter project, which surveyed more than 50,000 Syrians on democratic aspirations and political transition. We urge the transition leadership in Syria will pay close attention to this Charter.

In 2005 Bassam Ishak began directing Nonviolence International’s Syria Program while in Syria to support strategic nonviolent training, human rights, and democracy. Despite repression from the regime, Bassam courageously spoke up against their abuses and malign policies. Bassam is the brother of one of our founders, Abdul Aziz Said, who along with Mubarak Awad spent decades working for a democratic Syria.  Bassam was active in the Arab Spring before fleeing the country and participating in the exile resistance.

In 2011 and 2012, in the US and in Cairo, Bassam and Rafif organized for Nonviolence International historic trainings of a broad coalition of resistance leaders in strategic nonviolent struggle. Although a solely nonviolent revolution was hampered by the use of early violence by the opposition, we believe the ongoing nonviolent resistance has eaten away at the regime and has been an unseen but critical element in its collapse.

Nonviolence International will support their efforts to transition to democracy and an end to patriarchy and supremacist sectarianism. The transition will be a challenge because the country is so diverse and the opposition so splintered. In addition, Turkey, Israel and the US still have troops occupying parts of the country.

There is no military solution that can put Syria back together. Only a civil approach can succeed based on human rights, fair elections, and equality for all. All foreign troops must leave for Syria to be whole again. Revenge must not be tolerated. Women must be at every policy making table.

Syria faces many challenge ahead, but we call on friends around the world not to forget Syria in a few months but to ask our governments and civil society organizations to provide massive sustained support for their transition to a better future, determined by the Syrians themselves.

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#EveryLifeAUniverse

Nonviolence International invites you—communities, congregations, institutions, and individuals throughout the world—to commemorate the one-year mark of October 7th in a way that renews our resolve for justice and peace. Let us remember and honor the sacredness of every life, grief for those lost over decades of violence and oppression, and acknowledge those who are in pain today: those who have lost loved ones, are injured, abducted, displaced, whose homes have been destroyed, and who suffer from hunger and illness.

Through our grief and remembrance, let us renew our commitment to never give up on justice and peace between Palestinians and Israelis

We invite you for three days of remembrance and action by doing the following:   

1. Wear a black ribbon or armband during these days. We want to see people all around the world, in our cities and towns, workplaces, and educational institutions, wear black ribbons or armbands in order to create the collective consciousness of grief for lives that haven been lost. You are also welcomed to write “Every life, a Universe” on your ribbons or armbands. 
2. Organizing community vigils, sit-ins, sharing circles, walks, events, fundraisers, days of fasting, and humanitarian efforts for each of the days;On October 6th, you are invited to remember the decades of the past and decry the mistreatment and suffering of Palestinians caused by Israeli policies of expulsion, imprisonment, apartheid, siege, and occupation.On October 7th, you are invited to remember and decry the violent attacks by Hamas and others, including the hostage-taking, and the death of over 1,000 Israelis in a single day.

   On October 8th, you are invited to remember and decry the launch and continuation of Israeli attacks on Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, the killing of over 40,000 individuals, the injury of over 80,000, the displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilians and the abduction of thousands from their homes and families. 

3. Use the hashtag: #EveryLifeAUniverse on your social media and share your activities on the following Facebook page so others can join you and for all of us to know what you are doing Facebook Event Page.

Join us in your own way to say that violence, whether in defense or for liberation, is not the answer. Only nonviolence, which dismantles systems of oppression and violence and calls for collective justice and equality, will ensure that Israelis and Palestinians can live together in safety, peace, and justice.

Goals:

• To create global momentum that transcends the dichotomy of right versus wrong and unites us in a collective call to end all suffering. Our aim is to move forward toward achieving peace and justice for everyone.
• We seek to establish a unified ritual space where we can come together to acknowledge and process the past. This includes confronting grief, grievances, and the structures and systems of oppression that have perpetuated suffering across decades.
• Our objective is to reframe the Israeli-Palestinian crisis in a way that fosters a shared vision of equality, justice, and reconciliation. By doing so, we hope to encourage and mobilize collective actions to end the suffering.
• We want to remind everyone that we are the change-makers we have been waiting for. If we don’t act now, the suffering will continue and intensify.

If you would like to cosponsor and have your event promoted through our network, please register using the following link: Google form

You can also join our facebook event and add your event there as well

Explore our Tool Kit on how to participate in the Global Days of Remembrance and Action, filled with actionable steps and resources: Tool Kit

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.” —Rumi 

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The path to peace requires nonviolent action not just from Israelis and Palestinians, but also Americans, the media, aid organizations and others. The following is by Nonviolence International founder Mubarak Awad.

I have spent my life advocating for Palestinians and Israelis to use nonviolent means to resolve their conflicts. Because Israel feared Palestinian unity and mass nonviolent action, I was expelled by the government in 1988. Since then, I have, on several occasions, personally advocated with Hamas leaders to abandon armed struggle and embrace nonviolent campaigns. Yet, today, Palestinians and Israelis are once again killing each other. 

I grieve for the unspeakable deaths in Palestine and Israel. I weep for the injured and the captured, particularly the children. In this century alone, until last week, more than 12,000 Palestinians and 2,600 Israelis have been killed in the conflict. Why can’t we stop this cycle of violence?

I urge Hamas and the Israeli government to agree to an immediate ceasefire, including an immediate halt to rocket attacks towards Israel and Israeli military attacks on Gaza. Each party must stop using violence and must commit to living and working with each other as neighbors. Human life and dignity are precious. Vengeful attacks only deepen hatreds and mistrust. Here are some practical nonviolent steps: 

1. For Palestinians: Stop the killing of Israelis. Welcome Israelis as neighbors and recognize their history. Keep struggling for equal rights. Work to end apartheid with Israelis even if you don’t fully agree on all politics. And for heaven’s sake, choose our leaders through regular elections.
2. For Israelis: Stop killing Palestinians. End the siege of Gaza. Reverse the land grabs in the West Bank and Jerusalem, which breed hopelessness and outrage. End apartheid and stop seeking Jewish supremacy. Support a right of Palestinian return and reparations. Stop the pogroms and the threats to the Al Aqsa mosque.
3. For the international media: Cover this conflict the way you would have liked to have seen slave rebellions and or anti-colonial massacres covered in previous centuries. Stop using the word “terrorists” to describe actors on either side. Both are motivated by perceptions of security and historical identity and are not simply trying to create fear, i.e. “terror,” in the other.
4. For Americans: There is no military solution. Stop supplying weapons. Let’s support Israelis and Palestinians equally. Show a positive example by improving our treatment of Native Americans and ending the vestiges of our domestic racial apartheid.
5. For the international community: The two-state solution, unfortunately, is no longer an option. Support solutions that provide rights to all peoples in the region. Keeping Gaza as an open-air prison is criminal. Therefore, have it declared as such, by international and political bodies. Provide humanitarian aid and denounce apartheid. Work for justice and equality.
6. Humanitarian aid organizations: Urgent humanitarian action is needed, including the establishment of a humanitarian corridor both within and outside of Gaza, for the safe movement of people and the delivery of essential supplies.This includes opening Erez and Kerem Shalom/Abu Salem crossings to allow for the movement of people and goods and remove the ban on access to the sea.
7. Soldiers and armed actors: Don’t cut another’s life short. Don’t cut your life short. Don’t seek revenge. I applaud Israelis who are refusing military service to engage in a senseless attack on Gaza. Arms are for hugging, not for harming others. We can do this.

Published also on Waging Nonviolence    Mubarak Awad helped launch the 1st intifada and was exiled from Jerusalem by the Israeli government in 1988. He was Founder of the Palestinian Center for the Study of Nonviolence, Founder of the National Youth Advocate Program and Founder and current President of Nonviolence International.

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