I felt compelled to seek alternate solutions outside American borders, and furthermore I sensed turbulent times within them. It was accurate foresight that caused me to choose Brazil because I knew that the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) nations were an emerging global power that could deliver more for Palestine than the United States, the Quartet, or the United Nations Security Council. 

It is necessary for more sovereign nations to become involved in the Israel-Palestine conflict, as their people must realise that events occurring in the Holy Land have a global effect. There is plenty of evidence to argue that much of the current turmoil in the Middle East is a direct result of the instability caused by Israeli-American policies implemented to advance Israeli interests at the expense of its neighbours. I believe that today, more than ever, we need to urgently find international consensus and a balance that will be the foundation for a solution.

In 2006, I believed that Brazil was a country that could take the initiative and provide enough positive input to get both sides to the table. Having lived there, I am sure. 

When my flight landed in Sao Paulo I had a Portuguese vocabulary of probably a dozen words and no working knowledge of Brazilian society or culture. It was with difficulty that I managed to seek out a trusted law firm that would handle all the legal aspects I was to encounter in my future endeavours. 

The initial week of my journey was very difficult as I had no accommodations and was moving from one place to another. Ultimately I landed in the northern part of Brazil to start my mission. It wasn’t a random decision that made me head in that direction, but it was the fact that 1,000 Palestinians lived in the city of Manaus, the capital of the state of Amazonas. The majority of them are successful merchants with numerous retail stores affording them financial independence. It was through contacts made by networking within the community that I was able to land myself some office space. It was also through the Palestinian community that I met a wonderful lady who was campaigning to run for the position of mayor of Manaus. She accommodated me and accepted my mission and assisted me with whatever I needed to become successful. Throughout my stay in Brazil I was continuously humbled by the generosity of the Brazilian people. I was eventually introduced through my new contacts to the attorney who was to envision the formula of success for the committee that I founded and which I called the Comitê Brasileiro de Interesse Nacional Palestino.

Once office space was secured and my nascent NGO was ready for take-off I began to seek a board of directors. It was my goal to involve as many international individuals as possible. I felt it was important to have diversity on the board. I sought people who were new to the intricacies of the conflict, people who were, in a sense, unbiased and not yet indulged in either peacemaking efforts nor in conflict resolutions. It was important for my NGO to be different and fresh. We had to choose a different road that no one had yet ventured down. As we were to become new players on the scene I wanted new ideas. The search for a board later led me to south-central Brazil. There I went to the city of Mogi das Cruzes, Sao Paulo, which later became one of two sites for the homes of Palestinian refugees who were brought from the border of Syria and Iraq. The other site was Porto Alegre. 

From Mogi das Cruzes, I again sought accommodations for some days through my compatriots through whom I also obtained additional legal assistance to help me in my search for a board of directors. I was later led to another city, in the state of Sao Paulo, the city of Cotia. There I was given the key to the city by the mayor and finally formed the board that I so badly needed to start laying the bylaws of the committee. In addition to the office space in Manaus, which is where I essentially launched the organisation with personal funds that I had saved up, I also took out office space in the city of Sao Paulo. I proceeded with the board to draw the outline of the projects to start establishing contacts within the field.

Our main objective was simple. Through building a relationship between Brazil and the Palestinian Authority we hoped to assist in establishing an independent state of Palestine. This relationship with the government of Brazil became critical to the committee. The time that the committee spent in establishing contacts within the government of Brazil and holding meetings in the state capital of Brasilia with government representatives was far greater than any project that we spent time on throughout the history of the committee. I still feel as strongly now as I did then that Palestinians need a foreign agenda far more than they need an internal agenda in the occupied territories. If Palestine is to gain its independence, the chances of it happening through external efforts are far greater than the chances of independence to be gained through domestic events. Initially, I began to coordinate the committee’s objectives with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in hope of building relations with its members, but this approach was not fruitful. The PLO members and the Palestine mission in Brasilia had placed their faith in official dialogues, which were difficult to access.

Yet we persisted, and a proud moment for our committee came with the drafting of a proposal that was signed by the foreign minister of Brazil, Celso Amorim, and the foreign minister of the Palestinian Authority, Riad al Malki. The statement declared that both sides would begin working together to improve relations. We had it down to the names of the people who would meet, how often they would meet, and the programmes that would be initiated. 

 Some of the projects that we work on are founded upon the ideas of peace camps. One such project is the Dialogues Project where we bring together Israelis and Palestinians to talk to each other. I don’t think one could ever meet a Palestinian who would not tell you that the most viable solution to the conflict is the one-state solution. No Palestinian can live in a Palestinian state and say that Haifa, Safad, Akka, Ramla, and Lod are not part of their nation. Never will a Palestinian be able to come to terms with the fact that these towns that they have historical ties to are not part of their state. In addition to the Dialogues Project, we also have the Bridges of Palestine Program, where we promote economic development as being key to a successful Palestinian state.

I feel that most politicians whom you would find in the Palestinian Authority will tell you that a one-state solution is the best solution, with Jews, Christians, and Muslims being one people in a cohesive land. Certain details are interesting to ponder such as “a common language.” Hebrew and Arabic can be the formal languages though. This is, I think, a dream because so far it has been difficult for both peoples to come to terms with each other and recognise the sufferings of the other side and shake hands. It’s the peace of the brave, which the late Yasser Arafat called it. Peace can only be for the brave, be it one state or two states. We need brave people who can step up to the plate and not be intimidated by the detractors, people who will make an attempt to do good things for the benefit of the other.

In Brazil, there is a population of roughly 55,000 Palestinians, with the majority living in the southernmost state, Rio Grande do Sul, where there is a population of around 20,000 Palestinians. Some of the Palestinians who are living in Brazil are third-, fourth-, and even fifth-generation Brazilians. It was an interesting experience to meet so many of the diaspora Palestinians in Brazil. Without exception, whenever I travel, be it in the Middle East or the Far East, the first thing I do upon arriving in a city is to seek out the Palestinian community. Invariably it is always there no matter where you find yourself in the world. There are grassroots efforts within Palestinian communities not only to elevate themselves within their adopted societies but also to benefit the entire society. These efforts are rarely heard about in the mainstream media. Palestinians living in the diaspora take pride in themselves and always maintain a strong emotional attachment, if not a physical one, to the home country. For them Palestine never ceased to exist on the maps. For them Palestine may not exist as an independent nation but continues to exist in their hearts as an idea that will never die. It is people such as these whom I sought out in Brazil and throughout my travels in general. I felt that these communities in exile were actual Palestinian neighbourhoods and villages transported from their native land and juxtaposed together with the native towns of a new and foreign land. These communities and the Palestinians who formed them function and operate as they did prior to 1948, when many of them became refugees when they were forced to leave their homes. 

In conclusion, not enough good can be said about how the people of Brazil welcomed me with open arms. They accepted my ideas and my mission and assisted me in every step of the way to create better relations between our governments and our peoples. There are around 12 million Arabs in Brazil and they have become an integral part of Brazilian society. Case in point: the second-largest fast-food chain, after McDonald’s, is a chain called Habib’s, which serves authentic Middle Eastern cuisine on the go. It’s fast food with a drive-thru where you can get your kefta, stuffed grape leaves, sfiha, and keeba on the go. 

Arabs and Palestinians have an established presence in Brazil. It is therefore essential to make use of the goodwill that Brazilians feel towards us and try to involve them in being an honest broker in the peace process. Let us not forget that in the current political landscape, power is shifting, and Brazil is guaranteed a spot in the future as a potentially significant player for years to come.