Welcome to The National's weekly newsletter Beshara, where we share the most positive stories of the week.
“We don’t need purveyors of hate, we don’t need provocateurs – we need peacemakers,” Sholto Byrnes wrote this week.
Reacting to the contentious acts of some people over the Israel-Gaza war, his powerful column reflects on the need for multifaceted thinking instead of the dichotomous rhetoric we are seeing play out the world over.
He highlights two particular peacemakers who are “putting themselves in the shoes of the other”. Palestinian Ali Abu Awwad and Israeli Ami Dar are self-described solution-makers and “Siamese twins” who believe “a shared commitment to dignity and justice is possible”.
The pair came together for a TED talk earlier this year and echoed and supported one another question by question, especially in their calls for non-violent activism.
The panel session is packed with many, many stand-out statements, rallying sentiments and to quote the host “beautiful words”, but I will highlight this and you’ll know why: “If you are pro-those or pro-those, this is not going to help. We need you to be pro-solution.”
Below you will meet more solution-makers operating in some very difficult and narrow margins, while we await and hope – with every fibre of our being – for news of a ceasefire.
Best wishes always,
Nicola
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Support in all forms
How we choose to express our support is as personal and varied as all modes of self-expression. For some it comes through creative outlets – through the tip of a pen or at the flick of a paintbrush. (See these murals).
For others, it is uniting in a collective movement with the aim of being seen and heard as visibly and loudly as possible.
For the Angel of Mostar – a nickname Sally Becker was given by the UK press many years ago – her act of support has always been in selfless attempts to physically help or rescue as many children as she can. Known for her work in Bosnia in the 1990s, she has now turned her efforts to helping Gazan children get medical care in Italy. Please do read more about this here.
This week we also learnt how an Etihad plane has been converted into a flying hospital. The National's Nada AlTaher went on board for the latest mission taking Gazan patients to the UAE to learn how the multi-team operation works.
Read more here and listen to our special Beyond The Headlines podcast episode that explores the extraordinary humanitarian efforts to get people out of the strip and to medical centres abroad – here.
QUOTED
'When I think back to how far we have come, it is like a dream, like I am looking at somebody else’s life. It has not been easy but we just knew we could not give up'
Syrian refugee Razan Al Sous and her family had to abandon their business and flee Damascus with very little. This week she told The National how they have just won a life-changing contract after building a new cheese venture in the UK
Tackling 'educide'
While the scale of the disruption to schooling in Gaza is far beyond the capacity of these few passionate teachers – it is incredible to see their efforts to help children continue their education and have some semblance of normality.
This week we met two volunteers who helped turn refugee tents into makeshift classrooms and they said the youngsters are finding benefits beyond the textbooks.
As Asmaa Al Astal said: “Instead of being in tents scared, worried and anxious, unable to speak or write, afraid of the noise from the bombings, we will be with them and we will teach them”. Watch our video here.
SNAPSHOT
This daring little trekker is only six years old.
As you can see he is posing for the must-have shot for all those who make it to the base camp of Mount Everest in Nepal.
Ivan Krasiukov, a Russian pupil who lives in Dubai, scaled an altitude of 5,364 metres in only seven days.
Read more about his epic adventure here.
And explore the stories behind more captivating photos that were captured this week, here.