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Communities united to transform this DRC province into a haven of peace

Anicet Kimonyo
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Communities united to transform this DRC province into a haven of peace

For over ten years, the province of Ituri, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has been the scene of inter-ethnic conflict, mainly between the Lendu and Hema communities. Fueled by criminal interests and geopolitical dynamics specific to the Great Lakes region, this conflict has plunged Ituri into a spiral of violence. This situation, though alarming, is also the starting point for numerous local reconciliation initiatives that testify to the resilience and hope of the local populations.

The origins of the conflict in Ituri go back to decades of antagonism between the Hema, traditionally herders, and the Lendu, mainly farmers. Rivalries over access to land and natural resources were exacerbated by the region’s political and economic instability, particularly after the successive wars that shook the DRC at the end of the 20th century.

These local tensions have been compounded by external influences. Ituri’s wealth of mineral resources, particularly gold, has attracted national and international players, often accused of taking advantage of community divisions to exploit these resources with impunity. What’s more, the Great Lakes region, already marked by conflicts in Rwanda and Uganda, has seen these tensions imported into the DRC, fuelling the violence in Ituri.

The situation has worsened with the collapse of state authority in certain areas. Lacking protection and guidance, young people, sometimes barely out of childhood, were forced to take up arms to defend their communities.

Despite the trauma caused by years of war, individual and community initiatives are emerging to promote peace. Elle Alphonsine Cecile, 22, a former combatant, recounts her journey marked by violence and her choice to give up her weapons to work towards reconciliation. Cecile tells Peace News Network (PNN) she regrets her actions because they did not ultimately bring her peace. 

“It was the absence of peace that drove us to take up arms. I saw my loved ones being killed, which aroused in me a deep sense of revolt. I took up arms at the age of 15 and took part in attacks, thinking that this would bring us peace. Today, I regret my actions. Living conditions remain precarious, but I believe that a future of stability is possible”, she declares.

Elle Alphonsine Cécile, a young woman involved in Ituri’s peacebuilding efforts after being involved in fighting. Photo by Anicet Kimonyo.

This quest for peace goes beyond the individual. Local groups organize forums for inter-community dialogue, where former enemies meet to exchange ideas, share experiences, and discuss ways of preventing further violence. Young people like Cecile and 22-year-old Ngabu Jospin are actively involved in these efforts. After leaving militia groups, the two joined a farm road maintenance initiative, helping to build trust between local tribes. In Jospin’s words, “Peaceful coexistence is better than unnecessary conflicts that plague the region.”

Jospin Jacques Ngabo; 22 years old, a native of Kwabdruma. A militia member of the Codeco /ARDC group, Jospin surrendered his weapon in January 2019. Diango village, photo by Anicet Kimonyo.

An integrated approach to restoring peace

Faced with this complex situation, the Congolese authorities and international organizations have adopted a multi-faceted approach, combining military intervention, disarmament programs, and socio-economic reintegration initiatives.

On the security front, the Congolese armed forces (FARDC) have carried out offensives against several armed groups, reducing their capacity to cause harm. These operations have enabled them to liberate strategic areas such as Diango, once a stronghold of the ”Patriotic Force and Integrationist of Congo”  (FPIC) armed group.

”It used to be impossible to access Diango. But thanks to military operations and disarmament programs, security has been restored. Hema, Lendu, and Bira now meet, pray together and work side by side. These ex-militiamen, who were once enemies, have become citizens committed to living together,” says a local official.

The authorities have also set up demobilization and reintegration programs. These initiatives provide ex-combatants with vocational training, helping them to rebuild their lives on solid foundations. At the same time, development projects, such as support for agriculture and infrastructure construction, are strengthening the resilience of local communities.

Humanitarian impact and persistent challenges

Despite these advances, many challenges remain. The region is still marked by inter-ethnic massacres and targeted attacks on IDP camps, where thousands of families seek refuge. This violence is exacerbating an already critical humanitarian crisis, characterized by food insecurity, limited access to healthcare, and precarious living conditions. 

Soldiers in Ituri, photo by Anicet Kimonyo.

At the same time, ethnic divisions continue to be exploited by certain political and economic players. This instrumentalization threatens peace efforts by exacerbating tensions between communities.

For national deputy Gracien Iracan de Saint-Nicolas, elected in Ituri province, another major obstacle is the lack of confidence in state institutions, which are perceived as inefficient or corrupt. For peace to be sustainable in Ituri, it is essential to strengthen local governance and restore the credibility of the authorities with the local population. The corrupt state institutions are the leaders in Ituri province, according to Deputy Gracien Iracan and even other national deputies.

Several reports point out that much of the insecurity is fuelled by a few local authorities and leaders with the aim of commercializing the mineral business, in addition to conflicts over access to land.

Despite this difficult context, inspiring examples of resilience and solidarity are emerging. Local associations are organising awareness campaigns to promote dialogue and deconstruct ethnic prejudice. Such associations include the Union des associations culturelles pour le développement de l’Ituri and Rebatisseurs, which focus on dialogue and peace-building with community leaders, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), and the Provincial Government and its partners. MONUSCO organised a dialogue between the Lesse and Nande communities whose conflict was linked to land. All these associations are active in community action and projects, such as agricultural cooperatives and learning centres, enabling the inhabitants to work together, whatever their origin, in order to create this feeling of living together between the communities. The conflicts that are coming back to the table are essentially linked to access to land, with the problem linked to mines in certain territories, as is the case with Djugu, and even the absence of state authority.

Women’s groups such as Forum d’appui au développement de la femme, Forum des mamans de l’ituri ‘Fomi,’ and many others also play a central role in these efforts. As direct victims of violence, they are often at the forefront of reconciliation initiatives. Alphonsine Cecile’s testimony illustrates the determination of women to transform their painful experiences into a driving force for positive change.

What’s more, the Iturian diaspora, though often geographically remote, provides crucial support by funding development projects and advocating lasting peace on the international stage.

A vision for the future of Ituri

To transform Ituri into a true Eldorado of peace, local initiatives must be supported by coherent efforts at national and international level. This includes setting up transitional justice mechanisms to deal with past crimes and restore trust between communities.

Rebuilding state authority is also essential. A strong state, capable of guaranteeing security and providing basic services, is a sine qua non for preventing a return to violence.

Finally, the international community has a role to play in providing technical and financial support, while ensuring that Ituri’s natural resources are used transparently and equitably.

Despite persistent challenges, the examples of Alphonsine, Ngabu Jospin, and other ex-combatants show that hope for renewal is alive and well in Ituri. Through renewed dialogue and local development initiatives, communities are paving the way for a future where the wounds of the past will give way to a new beginning. Ituri, once synonymous with violence, could one day become a model of resilience and peaceful coexistence in Central Africa.

Elle Alphonsine Cécile, photo by Anicet Kimonyo.

Jimmy Carter: Peace President

Peace News Staff
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Jimmy Carter: Peace President

The late president did not always perfectly embody his human rights rhetoric while in office, but spent the rest of his life waging peace.

James “Jimmy” Earl Carter, the 39th President of the United States who passed away on December 29, was often referred to with a simple cliché: a forgettable, even failed president, who went on to lead the most successful post-presidency of all his peers.

Carter, a Georgia Democrat, served a single term from 1977 to 1981, losing his re-election bid to Ronald Reagan. As a former president, he reinvented himself as a peacemaker and a humanitarian. In a piece for The Guardian, former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown described Carter’s Presidency as “the prelude to something else: five decades of public service in support of some of the most challenging of causes … Championing democratic rights everywhere and in doing so, teaching the world that wealth and power mattered less than the opportunity to serve, the nearly 44 years of his post-presidential life and his unimpeachable integrity made him a beacon for moral leadership.”

Nevertheless, Carter’s presidency did lead to some real breakthroughs in the cause for peace. In 1977, he returned the Panama Canal to Panama, eliminating an enduring symbol of U.S. militarism in Latin America. In 1978, Carter and Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty II (SALT II), which saw both nations limit the size and scope of their nuclear forces.

Furthermore, while Richard Nixon is most often associated with opening the U.S.’ relations with the People’s Republic of China, it was Carter that fully normalized relations and recognized the communist authorities in Beijing as the sovereign government of China, establishing productive relations with what would become the world’s second largest economy.

Carter’s most famous foreign policy achievements, though, were the 1978 Camp David Accords, where the U.S. President mediated between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin to establish formal peace between their two countries. Egypt became the first Arab nation to recognize Israel.

However, even this most notable of successes had its limitations. The Camp David Accords included provisions meant to set up a fully autonomous Palestinian authority in the West Bank and Gaza which were not followed up on. The concept of “autonomy”, which seemed to preclude a Palestinian state, was criticized. The agreement concerning the territories occupied by Israel was also reached without the participation of Palestinians, and condemned by the United Nations.

Even as he put human rights at the center of U.S. foreign policy, Carter often could not, or would not, challenge U.S. great power politics or the ideological struggle of the Cold War. As pointed out by Human Rights Watch, “Carter’s human rights records had its shortcomings. At times he failed to condemn abuses of longtime allies – such as Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines and Suharto in Indonesia.” Marcos’ predecessor as Filipino President, Diosdado Macapagal, accused the Carter Administration of coddling “an overstaying and corrupt dictatorship against the people,” and accused Carter of failing to use U.S. leverage over the Marcos regime.

Carter also increased support for General Suharto’s regime in Indonesia as it continued its invasion and occupation of the former Portuguese colony of East Timor. Over 100,000 East Timorese people died as a result of military action and being held in detention camps where many died in a famine.

The Carter Administration was also a supporter of Iran’s last shah, the authoritarian Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and inaccurately referred to Iran during a 1977 visit as “an island of stability in one of the more troubled areas of the world” shortly before its 1979 Islamic Revolution. Despite this support for the shah, many Iranians blame Carter for Iran coming under the rule of an Islamic regime, saying that he allowed Ayatollah Khomeini to take power.

In response to the Soviet Union’s 1979 invasion of Afghanistan to prop up a friendly government, Carter stepped up aid to Afghan insurgents with the goal of undermining Moscow’s intervention. The resulting proxy war left the country in taters, setting the stage for the rise of the fundamentalist Taliban regime.

It was after he left the White House, however, that Carter dedicated himself to the peacebuilding and humanitarian work that, in the eyes of many, transformed him into a moral paragon of peace. 

He founded the Carter Center, an organization that, according to The Guardian, is credited with helping almost eliminate diseases like river blindness, trachoma, and Guinea worm disease. Most importantly, the Carter Center has carried out crucial election observation work, with the former president himself often leading the charge. When authorities in Panama allied with the previously U.S.-supported Dictator Manuel Noriega rigged the Central American country’s 1989 election, Carter himself strode past armed National Guardsmen to confront officials reading falsified electoral results.

According to the Carter Center, the former U.S. President angrily shouted in Spanish at the officials “Are you honest men, or are you thieves?” 

Carter also served as an impromptu diplomat when called to mediate in sensitive negotiations by the U.S. government. In 1994, he traveled to North Korea to help convince Kim Il Sung to put his country’s nuclear program on hold. That same year, he helped negotiate the return to power of Haiti’s democratically elected president, the leftist Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who had been removed by a military coup in 1991.

In his post-presidency, Carter also became increasingly critical of what he saw as aggressive actions by successive Israeli governments. In 2006, he published a book on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process titled Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. Carter defended his use of the term “apartheid” to describe the situation in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, saying in an NPR interview that “This is a word that’s a very accurate description of the forced separation within the West Bank of Israelis from Palestinians and the total domination and oppression of Palestinians by the dominant Israeli military.” This was years before the term was more widely used by human rights organizations.  

In 2016, after the first election of Donald Trump, Carter wrote an op-ed for the New York Times in which he called for President Barack Obama to use his remaining time in office to recognize Palestine: “The simple but vital step this administration must take before its term expires on Jan. 20 is to grant American diplomatic recognition to the state of Palestine, as 137 countries have already done, and help it achieve full United Nations membership.”

“I fear for the spirit of Camp David,” he said. “We must not squander this chance.”

For all his work, Jimmy Carter received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded Carter the prize “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” The Committee said that Carter ought to have received the prize after Camp David, even as it acknowledged his foreign policy setbacks in Iran and Afghanistan.

In a world riven by war from Ukraine, to Sudan, to Syria, to Gaza, and by rising political extremism and authoritarianism, the Carter Center’s promise to “wage peace” is more necessary than ever.

Jimmy Carter, like all politicians, was imperfect. He was limited by politics, circumstance, and the very institutions he oversaw. Yet, in a time of strongmen, warlords, and dictators, as noted by the New York Times Editorial Board, America – and the world – need more Jimmy Carters.

This Week in Peace #64: January 3

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This Week in Peace #64: January 3

This week, Syrian leader meets with minority groups amidst rights concerns. Sunni and Shia tribes reach a peace deal in one Pakistani district. 

Syrian leader meets with minority groups amidst rights concerns

Concerns for Syria’s minorities are rising. On December 31, the country’s de-facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, met with senior Christian clerics in Demascus, following demands on him to guarantee Syrian Christians’ rights. Syria’s General Command posted a statement on Telegram with photos of the meeting with Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican clerics.

This development comes after a Christmas tree was set on fire in the main square of Suqaylabiyah, a Christian-majority town, on December 25. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist group which overthrew Assad, said that foreign fighters had been detained over the act, and that the tree would be repaired the next morning. After the incident, Christians protested in Damascus, marching toward churches and calling for more protection.  A religious figure from HTS held up a cross to show solidarity, something that conservative Islamists usually wouldn’t do, BBC reported.

Al-Sharaa also reportedly held talks with Kurdish commanders this week. A Syrian official told AFP that al-Sharaa held “positive” talks with delegates of the Kurdish-lead Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on December 30. However, al-Sharaah told Al-Arabiya television that weapons must be “in the hands of the state alone,” and that anyone armed and qualified to join the defense ministry would be welcomed. 

Meanwhile, members of Syria’s Alawite minority are also anxious about their future in the country. There have been threats against Alawites on social media, with some Syrians saying that the group should pay for supporting Assad’s regime. After December 8, when the new government took power, a government representative met with leaders of al-Qardaha, a mostly Alawite village. While the leaders said the meeting was a good start, armed men believed to belong to other rebel groups arrived at the village to steal vehicles and loot homes in the following days, New York Times reported.

It remains to be seen whether Syria’s new government will prove itself to be a promoter of minority rights. 

Sunni and Shia tribes reach a peace deal in Pakistani district

In Pakistan’s conflict-stricken Kurram district, located in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, an assembly of tribal elders brokered a peace deal between Sunni and Shia tribes. 

The deal comes after clashes killed at least 130 people in the past few months. The violence escalated on November 21, when gunmen attacked a vehicle convoy and killed 52 people, mostly shias. On December 17, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa officials ordered tribes to give up their weapons and sign an agreement through government mediation. Provincial government spokesman Mohammed Ali Saif told The Associated Press that on January 1, a deal had been reached. 

Under the deal, Saif said, the two sides agreed to dismantle their bunkers, and turn in their weapons to the government. He added that this would allow Kurram’s roads to reopen soon. Elders said that shortages of medicines at the district’s hospitals caused the deaths of at least 100 patients. 

Saif wrote on X that the deal would “soon restore calm and security” and lead to “peace and development” for Kurram. The district is home to nearly 800,000 residents, a large portion of whom are Shia, although Shias are a minority in Pakistan. Kurram has experienced sectarian conflict over the years, which has been entangled with tribal rivalries.

Year in Review: PNN’s Top Articles of 2024

Tara Abhasakun
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Year in Review: PNN’s Top Articles of 2024

In 2024, Peace News Network (PNN) continued its mission of telling stories about peacebuilding and peacebuilders in conflict zones across the globe. We continued to shine a light on people promoting unity and reconciliation despite violent and difficult situations. 

As we start a new year, we are sharing our top 10 most viewed articles of 2024. These articles discuss peacebuilding in several corners of the globe where conflicts continue to harm people, including Ukraine, Nigeria, Pakistan, Israel-Palestine, and more. 

Below are PNN’s top 10 articles of the year. 

  1. Combatants for Peace: Choosing the Unpopular Path of Peace
Image credit: American Friends of Combatants for Peace

By Rana Salman

Our most-read article of the year, part of our “Voices of Peacebuilders in the Middle East” series, details the work of former combatants in Israel/Palestine who now promote an end to violence, and seek mutual respect and compassion. The author, Rana Salman, is the organization’s executive director. Salman discusses how Combatants for Peace chooses a different path by acknowledging the shared pain and humanity of both Israelis and Palestinians. 

  1. Afghan Refugees Suffer Hate and Prejudice in Pakistan and Beyond
Afghan refugees wait outside an EU-funded medical clinic in a refugee camp, one of many in Pakistan. © European Union, 2020 (photographer: Mallika Panorat)

By Ayesha Jehangir

Ayesha Jehangir discusses how many Afghan refugees in Pakistan faced expulsion under the Pakistani government’s recent crackdown, which entered its second phase on 15 April 2024, impacting at least 1.3 million Afghan refugees. The nation-wide crackdown was launched with full force and immediate effect on 15 September 2023.

  1. The One-Year Anniversary of Civil War in Sudan Highlights the Urgent Need for Peace
Khartoum, Sudan, where a civil war began on April 15, 2023. Photo by Abdulaziz Mohammed on Unsplash.

By Leo Weakland

Leo Weakland explains the history behind Sudan’s brutal civil war, which has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions. He points out how the overthrow of longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir offered hopes for a democratic transition, however, it led to a power struggle, and a horrific humanitarian crisis.

  1. The Swiss Peace Summit on Ukraine- Futile or Purposeful? 
Kyiv, Ukraine. Photo by Glib Albovsky on Unsplash

By Kristian Åtland

Kristian Atland analyses how the international summit on peace in Ukraine had the potential of becoming an important stepping stone on the long and winding path towards peace in Ukraine. However, he notes that Ukraine and Russia have widely diverging views of what a negotiated settlement should look like and how it may be accomplished.

  1. Gender-Based Violence and Climate Change: The Challenges of Environmental Peacebuilding In Colombia 
Photo by Flavia Carpio on Unsplash

By Natalia Urzola and María Paula González

Natalia Urzola and Maria Paula Gonzalez put a spotlight on how climate change intensifies gender-based violence. For example, when women must travel longer distances for water, they are more likely to be exposed to violent situations. Urzola and Gonzalez discuss how the peacebuilding process can address such issues. 

  1. Social Media: A New Frontier for Peacebuilding 
The United Nations headquarters in New York City. The UN is one of the first actors to explore the potential of digital peacebuilding. Photo by Daryan Shamkhali on Unsplash.

By Peace News Staff

Peace News staff explore how scholars and peace advocates are working to build peace in this digital space, leading to the rise of digital peacebuilding. This work is crucial as conflicts now not only take place on the ground but also online, with digital platforms being used to spread violence and hate. 

  1. Are Armenia and Azerbaijan Close to an Unprecedented Peace? 
President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, President of the European Council Charles Michel, and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia, in Brussels in 2022. Image credit: The Presidential Press and Information Office of Azerbaijan

By Leo Weakland

Leo Weakland spoke to Dr. Margarita Tadevosyan of George Mason University about the negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Weakland explains the context of the two countries being involved in one of the most enduring of the many conflicts in the post-Soviet space. Tadevosyan told PNN that both countries need to support “an internal conversation about what a mutually built peace should look like.”

  1. Environmental Defenders Work to Maintain the Peacebuilding Role of Nature in Northern Uganda
Image credit: Alobo Shalom

By Maria Andrea Nardi

Maria Andrea Nardi shines a light on the contributions nature can make to foster  sustainable peace and development in Northern Uganda beyond its role in income generation by resource exploitation.  The environment, she argues, is relevant for peace because it works as a (a) semiotic system, (b) public space, and (c) reconciliation means.

  1. A Case for Intergenerational Peace Leadership, Now!
Photo by Papaioannou Kostas on Unsplash.

By Lesley Pruitt and Katrina Lee Koo

Lesley Pruitt and Katrina Lee Koo advocate for what they call Intergenerational Peace Leadership (IPL). They explore the concept, along with its prospects and challenges, and offer examples of three case studies from Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, and Nepal. These countries all feature intergenerational conflict experiences and efforts at community-based peacebuilding.

  1. Reaching Across the Aisle: Inter-Tribal Relationships Foster Peace in Nigeria 
Imam Nurayn Ashafa and Pastor James Wuye of the Interfaith Mediation Centre in Kaduna, Nigeria

By Mohammed Ibrahim

Journalist Mohammed Ibrahim reports on how relationships between people of different tribes, religions, and ethnicities contribute to peacebuilding, and have helped reduce conflict in Nigerian states impacted by it. Ibrahim speaks to Nigerian citizens about their heartwarming stories of befriending those from different groups than their own. These connections, he says, help restore confidence and trust across the country.

Finding Ground: Reflections on Trauma-Informed Peacebuilding in Israel/Palestine      

Shlomit Dror
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Finding Ground: Reflections on Trauma-Informed Peacebuilding in Israel/Palestine      

Editor’s note: In wartime, those working for peace are often viewed with suspicion and even hate by those who see peacebuilders as a barrier in their quest to defeat their adversary. Such pressure can make the life of a peacebuilder, working to rehumanize and find non-violent solutions with the other side, difficult. While such difficulties are not at the same scale and depth of human suffering as those directly impacted by the violence, they are nonetheless worth acknowledging and understanding as another aspect of conflict. This is especially because the work of peacebuilders is more important than ever during periods of mass violence and human suffering, as currently witnessed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The following story is by one member of the Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP) – a network of organizations working for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. 

In times of conflict, it’s easy to retreat into judgment and cynicism as a way of processing trauma, sadness, and grief. Yet what we truly need is guidance, support, connectivity, and a safe space to share our deep wounds. This truth became vivid during a transformative two-day training session at Neve Shalom from September 22 to 23, 2024. The session was conducted under the expert guidance of Eva Dalek, and provided by the Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP) to its members. ALLMEP is a network of over 160 member organizations, among which is the group I work for, Jerusalem Culture Unlimited. Neve Shalom, which means ‘Oasis of Peace,’ is a village in Israel in which Arabs and Jews live together and work for peace.

This session revealed how much trauma our bodies carry—pain we often don’t even recognize we are holding. While it seems impossible to rationalize the extent of death and of destruction since October 7, all of us have no choice but to live through an ongoing war, and simultaneously try to function personally and professionally. This essential training, “Trauma in Peacebuilding,” included various workshops and emotional processing, and offered a path forward for participants to open themselves to healing.

What made this experience unique was a sense of power that came from shared vulnerability and experience. As an arts professional, mother, and wife, I came seeking to reconnect with my authentic self during a year of war that brought fear, judgment, anger, and criticism, making such connections seem impossible. Surrounded by new faces of people I had never met before, the emotional resonance of our shared experiences broke through isolation and enabled us to learn from one another. While the feeling of isolation from this past year still persists, these sessions provided grounding and understanding to deal with fear and sadness.

The brilliance of the program lay in its alternating focus between physical and mental exercises, teaching us to tap into our senses and build awareness of our surroundings and ourselves. Through carefully structured workshops, we discovered the vital connection between bodily and emotional healing. Group dynamics proved especially powerful—a crucial lesson for those of us who work with people professionally. One striking demonstration showed how attempting to bear another’s full weight leads to collapse, highlighting the importance of sustainable mutual support. In my work with JCU, we rely heavily on trust, openness, and support between Israeli and Palestinian colleagues.

Unlike traditional seminars filled with note-taking and presentations, this training engaged us holistically. A simple morning exercise of being barefoot outdoors immediately grounded us in physical presence. Even nature participated—rain fell during our movement exercises, adding an element of cleansing synchronicity. Throughout the two days, we learned how brief physical practices—tapping, jumping, stretching—can anchor our mental well-being. These practices should be implemented religiously in these stressful times.

One of the most transformative aspects of the training was learning about the power of holding space—truly listening when someone else speaks. This meant being present without judgment, without preparing responses, but simply being there with our body and heart. Through a rotating exercise where we took turns as speaker, listener, and observer, I discovered what it means to listen with the heart—not intellectualizing the speaker’s words, but finding compassion and maintaining an open heart.

Dalek emphasized that in our daily interactions, we often fail to listen deeply enough, forgetting that the person before us carries a lifetime of memories, pain, and traumas unknown to us, just as they don’t know ours. This insight resonates particularly in my work with JCU and the artists I engage with in Jerusalem, all of whom come from diverse backgrounds and life experiences, with narratives that deserve space and recognition.

The training also revealed the inseparable connection between our personal and professional lives, especially during wartime. Our personal traumas inevitably affect our professional work, potentially causing friction and separation. However, understanding this connection helps us navigate both spheres more consciously. This awareness of how to listen through the heart extends to ourselves, teaching us not only to suspend judgment of others but also to be gentler with ourselves, recognizing there’s ample space to contain both our narrative and those of others.While these lessons might seem obvious, their practical application reveals how much we lack these skills in our daily lives, and what a profound difference they can make. As we continue our work in times of war and conflict, these lessons remain vital: the need for self-care, the power of shared experience, and the inseparable connection between physical and emotional healing. In a world that often pulls us apart, such training reminds us of our fundamental interconnectedness and the possibility of healing ourselves and the world together.

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