Human rights activist Mohammed shares amazing classes with students: ‘It’s hard to believe that it is really true!’
Not having water or electricity all day, or being unable to travel freely: almost unthinkable in the Netherlands, but harsh reality in the Gaza Strip. Human rights activist Mohammed works there and was recently in Deventer as part of the Shelter City programme, among other things to share his compelling story. "We can learn a lot from this."
Shelter City
Deventer has been a so-called Shelter City since 2018. Human rights organisation Justice & Peace is convinced that protecting and supporting local, grassroots human rights defenders is the best way to promote universal human rights worldwide, which is why the organisation set up this concept in 2012. This is how Justice & Peace wants to provide support in a concrete and accessible way to human rights defenders who are in danger. Currently there are twenty Shelter cities in the Netherlands, Georgia, Tanzania, Benin, Costa Rica, Nepal and the United Kingdom.
Photo: Mohammed talking with students during the Studium Generale-event (photo by Tessa Wiegerinck)
Mohammed arrived in the Netherlands on 21 September and will be flying back to the Gaza Strip next week. These past months in Deventer he was not only able to relax, but also tell his story to others, including students from various Saxion study programmes. To mark the end of his time here, he spoke last Wednesday at the Studium Generale event #HumanRightsForFuture.
Returning with lots of stories
"I mainly told students about Gaza, my work and life there," tells Mohammed. "What it’s like to be cut-off from basic rights like water and electricity, but also the importance of being free to travel. I think that it’s valuable for them, in addition to the subjects they take, to hear this story. There was still so much I wanted to share, but sadly, not enough time to share it all. However, it was great to see how many students were there on Wednesday, including students who have not had any lessons from me in recent weeks. It is something I really enjoy doing, it means a lot to me."
He was pleased to see how concerned the students were. "With each thing I told them, I got the feeling that they wanted to do something about it. They told me they wanted to know more and that they will keep an eye on the situation. That’s good to hear. But finally I also told them that it's not just about that story, but that they also have to find a purpose in life for themselves. What do they want? Ultimately, they need to make a good contribution to society."
These are truly issues that I can not even imagine, such as hugging his kids goodnight every evening because he can not be sure that he will still be there the next day
Mohammed looks back on his time in Deventer with satisfaction. "It was a great opportunity for me to talk about the problems in Gaza, but more than that I’ve also learned a lot about the Dutch, so I’m heading home with lots of stories. I like life here and have seen things here that we don’t have in Gaza: 24-hour access to all kinds of services, but also how trains work and what it’s like to cycle a bike. I already knew about it all, but now I actually experienced it first-hand. I can share these stories in Gaza and that is also the work of a human rights activist.
Saying goodbye to his children
Student Jennifer attended several of Mohammed’s classes during the minor Global Citizenship and also helped organise the Studium Generale event. She was impressed by his story. "Very intense, it’s a totally different life than what we are used to in the Netherlands. It involves things I just can’t imagine, like him saying goodbye and giving his children a big hug every evening, because he’s not sure whether he will be here the next day."
She noticed on the event livestream on Wednesday how viewers were hanging on his every word. "The reactions were very positive, everybody was very enthusiastic. He’s also a very nice man to work with: he helped think about everything and had lots of ideas. What is the most important thing I’ve learned from him during his time here? Mainly that you have to stay positive. It’s a bit of a cliché, but he always has a smile on his face. That is really nice."
A good match
Sanne also attended a few of Mohammed’s classes for her honours programme Liberal Arts & Sciences. "He explained in great detail the exact situation in Gaza, what he is trying to do with his organisation to improve human rights and shared some of his personal experiences. Afterwards we discussed this and asked him some questions about how he views certain things."
"Very impressive," Sanne continues. "Beforehand I didn’t really know anything about the situation there, but when he started openly talking about it, I was really shocked. It is a real eye-opener: in the sense that we’ve really got things easy here. But it does show that this shouldn’t be taken for granted and that it is important to pay attention to that. It is all more complicated than you might have expected."
In the honours programme we are now spending a lot of time on human rights. "Mainly in combination with storytelling. We look at how, through storytelling, we can ensure whether or not certain human rights are violated. In that respect this was a great match. We can learn a lot from this."