Sabeel Cornerstone – Reflections: COVID-19 in Palestine

Sabeel Cornerstone – Reflections: COVID-19 in Palestine

Sabeel_logo_small.pngThe way we face our challenges determines the probability of overcoming our problems and the potential of coming out as stronger individuals and communities. In this edition of Cornerstone, Sabeel, with the help of a number of writers, reflects on human nature and how people react when they face a major problem.

Many scholars believe that when facing problems humans react by going through phases: (a) ignoring the problem, or even denial of the problem (b) fear, panic, and anger (c) compromise with the problem, trying to live with it (d) depression (e) acceptance of the problem and dealing with it proactively. It is true that people deal with any problem in different ways: some spend more time in one of the above phases than the others, some might get stuck in a certain phase and feel unable to move forward without help. But it is almost certain we must deal effectively with all phases to overcome the problem successfully. Today in Palestine there are many problems that our people are facing, however two major problems stand out at the time of writing this Cornerstone:

  1. The COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating effects on our lives.
  2. A Political reality that seems to dismiss any chance for a just solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Sadly, many in the world now believe that since Israel refuses to comply with international law, the only solution relies upon a concession of the Palestinian people: a total concession to the Israeli government’s political proposals. The political changes in this period of history threaten to diminish the chances of our Palestinian people for a just political solution.

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