‘By participating in this project, I keep the issue of security in the limelight'

Walid Salem, director of Centre for Democracy and Community Development in Jerusalem. He worked together with IKV Pax Christi on the project ‘Human security from below.' This project is nominated for the Innovation Award. We had a conversation with him at the award ceremony.

How do you feel about your nomination for the Innovation Award together with IKV Pax Christi?

‘I am very proud. We, Palestinians would like to have our own state. But because of sorts of political reasons, we still don't have our country. For instance, if a bomb explodes in the middle of Jerusalem or Tel Aviv and a lot of Israeli's are killed, the promise of the Palestinian State disappears to the background. But with our nomination for the award, we keep the Palestinian issue on the international political agenda without compromising the interests of the Israeli's.'

What does it personally mean to you to contribute to this project?

‘We have a lot of problems with human security. In Jerusalem I'm seen as a Jordanian. Whiles in Jordania they see me as a Palestine. I am, in fact, stateless and this leads to insecurity amongst the people. They don't know where they belong.'

There is more.....

‘Another problem is the safety of the people. The general physical safety in Jerusalem is good. That means one can walk down the street without being shot at. But the State of Israel does not protect Palestinian citizens. I really want to change the situation. Palestinians want independence and Israelis want security. By fighting for security for the people, taking part in this project, but also bringing women activists from both sides together, I contribute to a better society. That is why this nomination is a recognition of our problems. I am proud that by participating in this project, I keep the issue of security in the limelight.'

How does this innovative trajectory bring existential change to your way of working?

‘We work on human security from bottom up. We look at how citizens of a country protect themselves when the state fails to provide security. After that, we see what we can do for them. We also try to change the perspective of the people of Jerusalem. They are used to living from day to day. This is why the politics is also based on daily issues. The effect of this is that a lot of random decisions are taken by their politicians.
We are trying to get them to think and plan ahead. In the past, the general tendency was, let's try and get back Jerusalem. After that we take care of security issues. But things are changing. Nowadays, people want to create security before they try to get Jerusalem back.'