KEY POINTS
- Bassam Aramin, a Palestinian, and Rami Elhanan, an Israeli, are two grieving parents who have crossed boundaries to become ambassadors of peace
- Bassam lost his daughter to an Israeli soldier's bullets, while Rami still grieves a daughter killed in a suicide bombing.
- The two peace advocates are visiting Australia for two weeks to help build bridges for reconciliation.
On the morning of Tuesday, January 16, 2007, Bassam Aramin's life was changed forever.
His 10-year-old daughter Abir was leaving school in Jericho when she was shot by an Israeli soldier at close range. Two days later, she passed away.
Ten years earlier, 40 kilometres away in Jerusalem, Rami Elhanan's world was similarly turned upside down.
On Thursday, September 4, 1997, his 14-year-old daughter Smadar was on her way to buy textbooks ahead of the new school year.
Explosions carried out by three Palestinian suicide bombers took the lives of five Israelis, including Smadar's.
Abir Aramin and Smadar Elhanan. Credit: Supplied
At 17, Bassam was imprisoned for seven years for his role as a militant in the 'intifada', or Palestinian uprising.
That defining experience led him to discover the human side of those he saw as enemies. As part of his efforts to get to know the "other", he went on to complete a master’s degree in Holocaust studies.
"Our struggle as a Palestinian people is for liberation, not for killing," he tells SBS Arabic24.
Bassam came to the conviction that dialogue is the only way to co-exist.
For Rami, a former soldier in the Israeli army, there are sobering similarities to their experiences.
"Fifty years ago I was a soldier and fought in the October '73 war. By the end I was angry, disappointed and bitter,” he says.
The son of a Holocaust survivor, Rami decided not to be a party to the conflict.
He carried on with his life as a graphic designer and father of four children.
All that changed when he met another Israeli who was familiar with his past turmoil and encouraged him to join an organisation he established to combat violence and call for peace between Palestinians and Israelis.
He invited me to a meeting attended by Palestinians and Israelis. That meeting changed my life.Rami Elhanan
Rami's journey led him to Bassam, who was also active in organisations trying to build bridges between the people.
In 2005, they met at Combatants for Peace, an organisation created by former fighters from both sides to find solutions for peace.
Bassam was one of the co-founders of the organisation, along with Rami’s son, Elik.
"I met Bassam through my son and we became close friends," Rami says.
The journey that Rami Elhanan embarked on led him to Bassam Aramin.
Their story became the subject of Colum McCann’s highly acclaimed, best-selling book, Apeirogon.
Bassam and Rami are on a visit to Australia for two weeks from May 17 to give seminars titled We Need to Talk.
The tour will take them to Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, where they plan to meet with members of the Palestinian and Jewish communities.
The visit is expected to be controversial. Not only because of its nature but also its timing, which coincides with the commemoration of the Nakba, also known as the Palestinian Catastrophe.
It is this day that Israel considers its founding.
Bassam is not afraid of being accused of abandoning the cause.
This is a wound of the heart that we will never forget.Bassam Aramin
For Rami, who belongs to an ethnicity that he says has carried "three thousand years of victimhood", dialogue is the only way forward.
He warns "instead of sharing the land that God gave us, we will share the graves underneath".
Rami identifies as a Jew, an Israeli and above all a human being who has proudly turned grief into a bridge for reconciliation.
Bassam, a Palestinian who has refused to pick up arms since his release from prison, shares his Israeli friend’s hope that forgiveness will be the path to salvation.
"I cannot forget ... but I am able to forgive," he says.
