Meet Aziz Abu Sarah, Author of CROSSING BOUNDARIES: A Traveler's Guide to World Peace

 

Aziz Abu Sarah is a peace builder, cultural educator, entrepreneur, author and international speaker. 

A Palestinian raised in Jerusalem, his journey from a radical seeking revenge to peacemaker seeking reconciliation led to an innovative method of peacemaking. Harnessing the transformative power of travel, he cofounded MEJDI Tours in 2009—originators of the Dual Narrative™ and a leader of socially conscious travel.  Aziz’s educational and conflict resolution work throughout the world has earned him the titles of National Geographic Explorer and Ted Fellow. He has written opinion pieces for The New York Times, The Washington Post, AlQuds, Haaretz, and has been published by National Geographic, CNN, TED, and Alarabiya. Most recently he has written CROSSING BOUNDARIES: A Traveler's Guide to World Peace.

 

Before you became a partner in MEJDI Tours, you were co-director of the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution (at George Mason University). What motivated you to make this transition?

I’ve always been fascinated by travel, even before my international conflict resolution work I was focused on bringing people together. I asked ‘How do we make confliction resolution sustainable’? It’s a very hard thing to do. We needed a business model to make this work. To insert conflict resolution in daily life. To make it normal.

Tourism is the largest educational, intercultural exchange program on earth. 1.4 billion people travel internationally each year. That doesn’t include domestic travel.

 

In your book you write “If I don’t travel or explore within my own community, then I’m not going to do it, even if I travel 5,000 miles.” Could you elaborate on that?

You have to learn [to explore different cultures] at home. If doesn’t become part of your life it becomes harder to do abroad. [When traveling] you’re going to look for your comfort zone. Stay in the hotel, eat the same food you’re used to, without exploring culture.

Lots of people travel to different countries and all they did differently was take photos.

We need to connect to the place [where we are] and meet people. Beginning in our own community. For example, the Vietnamese culture is strong in my own neighborhood in the USA! I’ve learned more from the local Vietnamese community in the USA than I did in Vietnam.

I don’t know any community that is one hundred percent homogenous, having a single story. That’s the most important statement I wrote in the whole book.

 

You wrote “The most crucial travel we can experience is usually just outside our front door.

The most transformational trip I ever made was walking across the street [in Jerusalem].

We’re realizing, in the United States, how divided we have become, within class, within cultures. But there are no borders. No checkpoints.

In your book you reference an answer that Stephen Hawking gave when asked what trait of human nature would he most like to change. He said it was aggression.

We cannot deal with any of the main issues (conservation, global warming, etc.), we can’t address any of these issues until we can work on aggression. Until we do, we won’t cooperate. These issues are stagnated because we can’t work with each other.

We need more conflict resolution training in schools. How do teachers handle [this issue] in the classroom How do diplomats handle conflict? We [continually hear] talk about winners and losers. So many diplomats I’ve met don’t even deal with conflict resolution.

We seem to have the wrong priorities.

 

You go on to note that “The issues facing human society do not recognize the artificial boundaries and borders we’ve created. We are all connected.”

Covid-19 is a great example of a global health issue that has no borders. The less we [are able to] work together the more we will all suffer.

Global warming is another big example. A whole country could disappear due to global warming. And look at Syria, Lebanon Jordan, Turkey, all [these countries are] dealing with refugees.

The idea that we can seal ourselves from the world, it just doesn’t work. Our decisions (in the USA) effect the whole world. Living inside a nationalistic bubble is an illusion.

 

Towards the end of CROSSING BOUNDARIES you write: “If we approach other religious communities with the same spirit of humility, respect, and learning that we extend to others, we'll discover both a world of diversity and surprising similarities But we have to be willing to suspend judgment and approach the existence of others with different beliefs as a learning opportunity, not as a threat.

Through travel, I realize how much I don’t know. The more I travel the more I learn what I don’t know. There’s so much I need to educate myself about.

I’m continually learning new things about conflict resolution by traveling, experiencing different cultures. To explore and ask: “How do you [in your culture] address these issues?” We need to connect with local knowledge. I ask a lot of questions about how people deal with solving conflicts. I am always learning something new.

It’s a different way of travel.

 

In your book you write about countries each having their own historical narrative, which while based on historical events, "are remembered or forgotten based on how they relate to current events and concepts of self... As a result, when learning about a country's history for the first time, it is important to consider how the present intersects with the past. How does an archeological site, museum display or historical event fit into the group's narrative of who they are? Who curates and promotes this narrative (the government, a majority ethnic group)? What historical events or groups are silenced in (or left out of) the narrative or museum display, because their inclusion might challenge the moral of the story?"

Once I was teaching a class on Israeli-Palestinian history. On one side of the room, I wrote down the Israeli timeline, on the other side, the Palestinian timeline. There wasn’t much difference in how both sides saw recent events; but there were differences in what was missing in each other’s story. The focus was different between the two groups. You have to ask yourself ‘what’s missing in this history?’

Every country has a national narrative. But it leaves out certain stories that don’t jive with the national narrative. So, it’s important to learn what’s missing.

There’s often a dominant narrative story, but some stories that are left out. We need to ask ‘What’s missing?’ [What’s missing is] not necessarily anti-government, but someone decided it wasn’t important.

Are there other voices [from different communities] we’re not hearing because they don’t fit in a box [of the national narrative]? If you include these stories it creates a new dynamic. When we travel we should try to find the missing voices.

Countries' stories don’t fit nicely into one box. No country has such a perfect narrative.

 

In the last pages of CROSSING BOUNDARIES, you note that we need to “Stop. Breathe. Reflect. And act in ways that will make the world a more kind and humane place." I really appreciate that piece of wisdom!

Sometimes it’s really important to take a step back, to really clear our mind, to think about where we are, to meditate (think). Take a moment of reflection. To ask: Where am I? What is happening here?

When we’re frustrated or anxious It’s really hard to be kind. To be purposeful.

It’s very easy to get into the spiral of: They yelled… so I’m going to yell.. They shoved… so I’m going to shove back. But my mission is to be kind.

I see this even in religious places [in Jerusalem], with people becoming frustrated and anxious. For example, at the Church of Holy the Sepulchre, one tour group got so mad because they thought another group was trying to shove their way past them.

I tried to make my book relevant, even for people who never want to leave their city. These concepts of travel can be applied in everyday life.

Fact Checking VP Pence

During the Republican National Convention last month Vice-President Pence gave a speech from Ft. McHenry.

He began by speaking to the historical importance of the Fort, noting: "They [the British] came to crush our revolution, to divide our nation, and to end the American experiment."

Right away, a sense of irony intrudes.

"For the last four years, I have watched this President endure unrelenting attacks and get up every day and fight to keep the promises he made to the American people," Pence offered.

One of the biggest campaign promises Trump made was that he was going to build "a big, beautiful wall, and Mexico is going to pay for it." The BBC has pointed out that in nearly four years, about three miles of new wall construction has actually been built. The other 197 miles is nothing but refurbishing on what already is there. And Mexico hasn't paid for any of it. (And wasn't one of Trump's buddies, Steve Bannon, recently arrested on criminal charges concerning a scam on funding for the wall?)

Another promise made was to fix our nation's infrastructure. Trump said, "we will become, by the way, second to none, and we will put millions of our people back to work as we rebuild it." This also hasn't happened.

Pence continued, "Not much gets past him [Trump] and when he has an opinion, he's liable to share it. He's certainly kept things interesting, but more importantly, he's kept his word."

Yep, after nearly four long years, we're aware of his opinion sharing. But keeping his word? Not so much.

The Vice President goes on to call Trump "a doer." Noting: "Few presidents have brought more independence, energy, and determination to that office." When it comes to handling his Twitter account, that's certainly true. And he has built-into his schedule 'executive time' to watch Fox News and other right-wing cable shows daily, often making follow-up phone calls to on-air personalities, in-between tweeting.

According to Business Insider Trump brags that he gets up at 5 am, and needs only three or four hours of sleep. That's not high-energy Mr. Vice President, that's sleep deprivation and it would explain his seeming inability to stay focused or speak in complete sentences.

"From Day One, he [Trump] kept his word. He rebuilt our military, created the Space Force, the first new branch of our armed forces in 70 years... " That's great that he created Space Force, Mr. Pence, but what exactly is it? Does anyone have specifics? And as for keeping his word, he hasn't.

Pence continues: "[C]loser to home, [Trump] appointed more than 200 conservative judges to our federal courts, supported the right to life and all our God-given liberties including the second amendment right to keep and bear arms." I'd say Trump is more conveniently anti-abortion than right-to-life. And since when is being *for* life (in every other sense of the term) the exclusive domain of conservatives?

If your definition of life means birth to the grave, Trump has done more harm than good. Like lowering SNAP (Food Stamp) benefits, seeking to have those benefits counted as income against claiming other benefits, and separating children from their parents at the border, while seeking to completely dismantle the Affordable Care Act, which would end health coverage for tens of millions. Taking all of these actions into account, he is by no means pro-life. 

Quick sidenote: The second amendment isn't about our "God-given" right to bear arms. What's written in the second amendment has to do with bearing arms as part of a militia. Specific to a protecting a fledging democratic republic in the late 1770s, fresh off a revolutionary war. Not 21st Century America. And could you please show me anywhere in the bible where God gives anyone the *right* to bear arms? Not to mention Jesus, especially, throughout his life, was a proponent of non-violence. 

In regards to how your partner in the Oval Office handled Covid-19, you say: "Before the first case of coronavirus spread within the United States, President Trump took the unprecedented step of suspending all travel from China. That action saved an untold number of American lives. And bought us time to launch the greatest national mobilization since World War II. President Trump marshaled the full resources of the federal government to direct us to forge seamless partnerships with governors across America in both parties." 

Calling a travel restriction a "ban" is a bit much. But, getting to the heart of Pence's claim about the most seamless mobilization since WWII? Hardly. I live in Michigan. You know, the state with the Governor that Trump called "that woman from Michigan."

[By the way Mr. President, her name is Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and anyone could ask her, or Governor Cumo or a host of other governors just how seamless the mobilization was. It was Cuomo who referred to the federal government's lack of a response to a request for PPE as pitting states against each other "like being on eBay."]

According to PolitiFact, governors were still asking for PPE as late as July. That isn't rapid or seamless.

"Because of the strong foundation that President Trump poured in our first three years," says Pence, "we've already gained back 9.3 million jobs over the last three months. And we're not just opening-up America again—we're re-opening America's schools."

It's great that 9.3 million jobs are back, but according to Market Watch, only 42% of all jobs lost due to the Covid-19 pandemic in the US have been restored.  PBS recently reported the figure as a little less than 50%. Either way, we've got a long way to go.

And about schools reopening. Well, you know how that is going. Not well.

Trump has demanded schools reopen, but most educators and scientists see this as a mistake. And the majority of states have either gone to a hybrid of remote or reduced in-person learning. Several school districts have had to backtrack opening in-person after outbreaks of Covid-19 among students.

At least Pence had the sense not to refer to the White House's response to Covid-19 as a masterpiece.  How could he? According to the New York Times, as of October 6th, over 7.54 million United States residents have gotten the Covid-19 virus and close to 200,000 individuals have died from it. That's 23% of the total cases and 21% of the total deaths worldwide.  To put this perspective: Overall the US holds just over 4% of the world's population.

Finally, about BLM and the protesting around the recent (in a long, continuing series) of police killings of black individuals, Pence said of Joe Biden, "The hard truth is... you won't be safe in Joe Biden's America. Under President Trump, we will stand with those who stand on the Thin Blue Line, and we're not going to defund the police -- not now, not ever."

This claim about safety is highly ironic, given what's happening in Portland and Kenosha and elsewhere is happening on Trump and Pence's watch. We shouldn't forget that. We shouldn't forget that Trump went to Keonsha and didn't meet with members of Jacob Blake's family. At the same time, he excused the policeman who shot Blake seven times in the back, comparing him to a golfer who chokes on a putt.

If anything Mr. Vice President, the bottom line is this: The lack of the White House response to the systemic racism, the lack of a coordinated response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the current administration's blind insistence on dismantling the Affordable Care Act without offering an alternative, is all happening under the current President. It is under the current President's watch that we are not safe.  To point the finger of blame at Joe Biden, as a presidential candidate, is completely pointless.