REFLECTIONS ON RESILIENCY AND INNOVATION FROM THE GAZA STRIP Dave Hutton
TRYING TO FIT THE PIECES Gaza and Palestine refugees What makes a people persist over time Thinking about resiliency and innovation differently What might be most important in supporting people More than statistics
SOME FACTS ABOUT GAZA Four hours of electricity per day 97% of water is undrinkable 60% experience food insecurity 80% depend of food aid 50% unemployed
AN ELEVEN YEAR OLD CHILD IN GAZA HAS NEVER EXPERIENCED A FULL DAY OF ELECTRICITY. ONLY ONE IN TEN CHILDREN HAVE BEEN OUTSIDE OF GAZA.
As a fourteen year old CYCLE OF VIOLENCE, FEAR, LOSS & HARDSHIP Lived through three conflicts - 2009, 2012, 2014 Constant state of uncertainly & sense of threat 2018 Great March for Return and Siege Removal Open air prison Never left Gaza Poor, inadequate living conditions Lack of electricity and water Problems at home Lack of future prospects
AND YET THIS
NECESSITY IS THE MOTHER OF INVENTION
BUT ALSO REAL INNOVATION
I am not hopeful that things will change but I keep hope The most important thing is my children s education. I want my children to have a good future. My dream is to be a doctor a teacher an lawyer an engineer. My dream is a free Palestine and ensuring the rights for all refugees. I want to travel, I want to visit Jerusalem. I m better off than many others. ENDURING HOPE AMIDST PESSIMISM
Could there be something more to resiliency? Can we think of innovation differently? And what might this mean to us? WHAT MIGHT BE TAKEN FROM THIS
REDEFINING OUR CONSTRUCTS Resiliency is the capability of individuals and systems (families, groups and communities) to cope with significant adversity or stress in ways that are not only effective, but tend to result in an increased ability to constructively respond to future adversity. Perhaps it can also be a grinding endurance to persevere in face of multiple and seemingly endless hardship.
AND INNOVATION MAYBE NOT THIS change, alteration, revolution, upheaval, transformation, metamorphosis, breakthrough
MIGHT IT BE MORE LIKE THIS "The adoption of a new practice, process, or paradigm by a community not just a new product or service. "Adapting, adjusting, or altering that which already exists for the purpose of adding value." Culture (identity) is the sum total of value, norms, assumptions, beliefs and ways of living built up by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next.
THE IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING CULTURE AND HISTORY The 1948 war uprooted 700,000 Palestinians from their homes, creating a refugee crisis that is still not resolved. Palestinians call this mass eviction the Nakba, or the catastrophe in Arabic.
THE PALESTINE REFUGEE IDENTITY Individualistic but a common identity of being a Palestine refugee United by a common experience of loss United by the hope of a just a durable solution United by the lack of immediate alternatives Solidarity and perseverance
SELF-REPRESENTATION THE IMPORTANCE OF WORKING WITH OTHERS
WHY SELF-REPRESENTATION IS SO IMPORTANT Marginalization is the process of pushing a particular group or groups of people to the edge of society by not allowing them an active voice, identity or place in it.
THE PRACTICE OF RESPECT AND DIGNITY IS THIS REAL STRENGTH?
Maybe in fact they are dependent? I have yet to meet a person who was born with the dream of begging. Maybe offer something else.
THE LIMITS OF STRENGTH AND RESILIENCY Not absolute Not without suffering Not without a price Not bottomless
Beginning March 30 205 Palestinian deaths including 38 boys and girls 21,288 injuries 5,345 by live ammunition and 529 by rubber bullets 4,250 children injured On May 14th 59 killed 2,900 injured MORE THAN STATISTICS
THE WORLD BREAKS EVERYONE AND AFTERWARD MANY ARE STRONG IN THE BROKEN PLACES.
AFTER 70 YEARS Almost everything you do will be insignificant, but it is important you do it. It s also not about us
UNDERSTAND WHO IS IMPORTANT Solutions tend to emerge over time, rather than being the product of a single collective decision They are not imposed from above, but emerge from the crowd. And, on the whole, they are better solutions than any group of Platonic guardians could come up with. James Surowiecki, The Wisdom of Crowds
Serve with purpose Recognize and appreciate others regardless of their life position It s really not about us Importance of working with others Engagement and transparency Kindness and helpfulness Respect and humility FINAL REFLECTIONS