As part of the project titled “The Palestinian Consortium for Non-violence: towards a regional movement on Non-violence” implemented by Pal-Think for Strategic Studies and FXB France, and within its partnership with local civil society institutions, Al-Awda Center for Childhood and Youth Rehabilitation and Al- Mustaqbal Association for Violence Victims Care implemented their initiatives in Tulkarm and Gaza, respectively, and in the twelfth episode from the radio program “Nonviolence: As a Lifestyle”, the two institutions reviewed the activities of the two initiatives.

The episode was inaugurated by Saeed Abdullah, CEO of Al-Mustaqbal Association, who spoke about the “Yalla Nehki” initiative that was implemented under exceptional conditions imposed by the new measures to prevent corona-virus, and amid the psychological pressure generated by the quarantine that was a catalyst for family violence. This mood requires special intervention and movement from Al-Mustaqbal, which pays special attention to the victims of violence in the Gaza Strip, providing psychological support and legal advice to them, empowering and educating them in the field of managing stress and conflicts.

He explained that what motivated the association for adopting this initiative is that self-quarantined children need to express themselves and need safe spaces to play and move, following that the eastern Gaza region, which is targeted for the initiative, has been suffering from both the consequences of 2014 war and the loss of their houses especially the reconstruction process has been sluggish.

“This initiative is part of a set of activities including, but not limited to, psychological support sessions, short films discussing the non-violence, recreational days for children and holding a special day for women to support them. Our association has been committed to all preventive measures for the COVID-19, referring the commitment to social distancing” Saeed added.   

In the second section of the episode, the discussion was devoted to the initiative implemented by the Al-Awda Center in Tulkarm, and Alaa Al-Suruji, the director of the center, stated that the initiative aimed to alleviate the effects of psychological stress resulting from quarantine and impose a state of emergency in the Palestinian territories, through a number of activities supporting children, youth and parents in Tulkarm Governorate.

Following the episode, he spoke about the activities carried out by the center as part of the initiative, mentioning the activity of the storytelling activity that presented stories that promote the culture of non-violence among children.

In conclusion, the two guests commended the partnership experience with Pal-Think, describing it as a pioneering experience in promoting a culture of non-violence in Palestinian society, praising the flexibility of Pal Think’s response to the modifications in the mechanism of implementing the initiative’s activities to harmonize the exceptional circumstances imposed by the emergence case of the novel corona virus.