By Marc Eliot Stein, World BEYOND War, September 30, 2023
Episode 52 of the World BEYOND War podcast is the longest interview I’ve done with a single guest, and when you hear Mohammed Abunahel’s story you’ll know why. Mohammed and I have never met in person but we work together at World BEYOND War on our No Bases project, which presents an interactive map and extensive visual database to illustrates how USA threatens other countries and escalates global conflicts with over 900 foreign military outposts around the world.
As we worked together on this project, I got a chance to know Mohammed Abunahel and hear the incredible story of his growing up in beseiged Gaza City, and the efforts he had to go through to gain a higher education and build a meaningful life with his family as a doctoral student in India and antiwar activist on the team at World BEYOND War, hoping through his studies, writings and research work to make a difference on a war-torn planet.
It never feels easy to work for a better world in an age of cynicism and rampant fear. But Mohammed’s story of perseverance in the face of impossible odds and numbing, constant denials of a Palestinian person’s basic human rights shows why he holds hope in his heart. The story he tells here is not the story of the violence he endured as a child, but rather of his own determination to find his own destiny in the world, as he shows up uninvited in airports and embassies from Indonesia to Jordan, enduring an ordeal that most of us will never experience.
Most of all, the story in this interview is about reaching out for help when it is needed, and being willing to accept help – one of the hardest things a person can do – and then give back.
I think this is one of the most moving and important stories I’ve captured on this podcast, and I hope everyone will listen and hear the voice of a human being from Gaza, a place where humanity itself has to fight for the right to exist. Please enjoy episode 52 of the World BEYOND War podcast, and I think you’ll never forget this one.
Here’s the No Bases project Mohammed and I have been work on together for over a year, along with team members Bob Fantina, David Swanson and Alison Broinowski:
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