Aziz Abu Sarah: For more tolerance, we need more ... tourism?
Азiз Абу Сара: Для большай талерантнасці нам трэба больш.. турызму?
Aziz Abu Sarah helps people break down cultural and historical barriers through tourism. Full bio
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and a peacebuilder,
і міратворац,
I remember watching television
як глядзеў тэлевізар
a fun thing to do.
and threw rocks,
to throw rocks at Israeli cars.
камяні ў ізраільскія машыны.
my neighbors' cars. (Laughter)
ў машыны суседзяў. (Смех)
about my patriotism.
ад майго патрыятызму.
and I know what you're thinking:
што вы падумалі:
what the heck happened to you?"
з табой адбылося?"
of throwing stones.
to confess that he threw stones,
прызнацца ў гэтым
маючы ўнутраныя пашкоджанні,
he was released from prison.
як выйшаў з турмы.
Hebrew to get a job,
каб атрымаць працу,
in that classroom
who were not soldiers.
якія не былі салдатамі.
like the fact that I love country music,
мая любоў да музыкі кантры,
for Palestinians.
that we have a wall of anger,
што паміж намі сцяна зла,
that separates us.
якая падзяляе нас.
what happens to me.
што адбываецца са мной.
to dedicate my life
that separate people.
but also media and education,
СМІ і адукацыя.
really, can tourism change things?
як турызм можа змяніць нешта?
Так.
to bring down those walls
для таго, каб разбурыць гэтыя сцены
of connecting with each other
людзей для зносін адзін з адным
aims to connect people,
з'яўляецца згуртаванне людзей.
між іншым.
we would have two tour guides,
экскурсію з двума гідамі,
guiding the trips together,
другі -- палестынец,
and archaeology and conflict
археалогію і канфлікты
with a friend named Kobi --
са сваім сябрам Кобі
the trip was in Jerusalem --
Экскурсія была ў Іерусаліме,
a Palestinian refugee camp,
для ўцекачоў
food called maqluba.
завецца "малікба",
and you flip it upside-down.
а потым пераварочваецца дагары нагамі.
Israeli and Palestinian musicians,
з ізраільскімі і палестынскімі музыкамі.
I'll teach you later.
я навучу вас пазней.
they did not want to leave.
relationships still exist.
дагэтуль існуюць.
if the one billion people
every year travel like this,
from one side to another,
of their buses of people and cultures,
людзей і помнікі,
a Muslim group from the U.K.
з Вялікабрытаніі,
of an Orthodox Jewish family,
габрэйскую сям'ю,
dinners, that Sabbath dinner,
пятніцкую вячэру, гэта значыць Шабат,
which is a Jewish food, a stew,
кшатлту рагу,
of realizing, after a while,
their families came out
for your Facebook.
старонкі на Фэйсбуку.
to change your travel.
everywhere to change the world.
каб змяніць свет да лепшага.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Aziz Abu Sarah - Entrepreneur + educatorAziz Abu Sarah helps people break down cultural and historical barriers through tourism.
Why you should listen
When Aziz Abu Sarah was a boy, his older brother was arrested on charges of throwing stones. He was taken to prison and beaten — and died of his injuries. Sarah grew up angry, bitter and wanting revenge. But when later in life he met, for the first time, Jews who were not soldiers, Sarah had an epiphany: Not only did they share his love of small things, namely country music, but coming face to face with the “enemy” compelled him to find ways to overcome hatred, anger and fear.
Sarah founded MEJDI Tours to send tourists to Jerusalem with two guides, one Jewish and one Palestinian, each offering a different history and narrative of the city. Sarah tells success stories of tourists from the US visiting a Palestinian refugee camp and listening to joint Arab and Jewish bands play music, and of a Muslim family from the UK sharing Sabbath dinner with a Jewish family and realizing that 100 years ago, their people came from the same town in Northern Africa. MEJDI is expanding its service to Iran, Turkey, Ireland and other regions suffering from cultural conflict. If more of the world’s 1 billion tourists were to engage with real people living real lives, argues Sarah, it would be a powerful force for shattering sterotypes and promoting understanding, friendship and peace.
Aziz Abu Sarah | Speaker | TED.com