Aicha el-Wafi: "My Pain Grows Worse By the Day"
By Edit Schlaffer
This interview contains controversial ideas that we are sure will prompt discussion. Please leave comments on our blog: www.womenwithoutborders-save.blogspot.com
Her son was presumably meant to be the 20th hijacker in the September 11th attacks, but was arrested before that fateful day. His mother recounts how 9/11 also changed her life forever.
A US court condemned him to life in prison for his involvement in the terror plot.
It was the first sentence passed against someone involved in the September 11, 2001 attacks. In early May 2006, a twelve-person jury in Alexandria (near Washington) sentenced Zacarias Moussaoui, a Frenchman of Moroccan origin, to life in prison. Moussaoui only escaped the death penalty because the jury did not unanimously agree that he had been involved in the 9/11 plot, although he pleaded guilty.
It is possible that he would have flown a plane into the White House as the 20th hijacker, had he not been arrested at a US pilot training school several weeks earlier after making his trainer suspicious. A few days after the sentencing, Moussaoui surprisingly retracted his guilty plea and unsuccessfully filed an appeal. Aicha el-Wafi, the mother of the alleged terrorist, has accused the US of having turned her son into a “martyr.” After the September 11th attacks, she reached out to the families of the victims.
You wanted to raise your son Zacarias to be a perfect French citizen. Why did he nonetheless head down the wrong path; what went wrong?
Aicha el-Wafi: I tried to raise my son correctly, and to show him the path of respect and tolerance. At first he did live like a French citizen; he went out with his friends, drank alcohol, and smoked.
Where did Zacarias first come in contact with extremists?
In a mosque in Great Britain while he was studying there, not in France. He went to England to improve his English.
Did you see any warning signs? At which point did his behavior begin to make you suspicious?
I never saw any warning signs. After he left for Great Britain, he came to visit me multiple times. That’s when I noticed that he was praying a lot. But that is not unusual for a Muslim. I thought he was praying for me. I never would have thought that he was surrounding himself with extremists.
You came to France as a young bride at the age of 17. You worked hard and studied to ensure that your children would have the best lives possible. Did Zacarias accept the image of a woman that you portrayed—firmly anchored in French culture and daily life?
I came to France in 1965; I was 17 years old and already had two daughters: Nadia and Jamila. My sons were born in France. It was a very difficult period in my life: we had no work, we had nothing to eat, and my children’s father regularly beat me. It was really hard. That is why I decided to take charge of my own life and left my husband, with whom I could no longer live.
What about your children?
When my children were young and I picked them up after school, their classmates always asked them whether I was their sister. They were proud of me and respected me; they did whatever I asked of them. That all changed when they left home and went to university. In particular, my sons’ personalities changed a great deal. All of a sudden they wanted me to wear a veil. They no longer went out with friends, stopped drinking alcohol, and no longer smoked. I did not want to accept these changes. My sons were growing up and changing, but I was already grown, and did not change.
Did you never ask your sons about their friends?
In France, my children even had Israeli friends! I never asked too many questions about who they were spending their time with. When Zacarias began attending university in Great Britain, I wanted to go visit him. He told me that I would have to book a hotel room. I asked him why—he had his own apartment. He answered that other people were now sharing his apartment with him—he called them his “brothers.” It did strike me as strange, but I thought that perhaps that was normal in Great Britain. I didn’t visit him in the end, because I did not want to stay in a hotel room. But I was never really suspicious. Only later did I realize that he was referring to the Islamists as his “brothers.”
And then—did you stay in touch with your son?
We did not speak for years, but when I returned home after a long break in Morocco, I suddenly found several messages on my answering machine from Zacarias. He kept saying “Mama I love you,” and “Mama I hug you.” On September 13, two days after the attacks, I went to Great Britain. There were many protests in front of the mosques. I was completely shocked, because this was my first interaction with Islamists. Everyone knew me; they all knew I was Zacarias’ mother. But I did not know anyone.
The 9/11 attacks changed your life forever. But you also changed the mindset of many people in the Western world toward Muslims, because you approached the family members of the victims. What do you learn from those meetings?
I met those families during an extremely difficult time; they had just lost loved ones. We shared those hard times and I learned a lot from them, and I hope they also learned from me. Our fates are similar, but we are different in one key aspect: my pain grows worse every day, because I don’t know how my son is doing. The family members of the victims at least know where their loved ones are: they are dead. The pain those families feel will lessen over time. But Zacarias is buried alive; he has no contact to the outside world. My stomach hurts every single day, because I do not know how my son is doing. I have so many questions that remain unanswered. I cannot and will not accept this.
In your opinion, did your son not deserve this sentence?
I demand to know what exactly the US government is accusing him of having done. Of course I am thinking of the family members of the victims and their pain. But Zacarias was not sentenced to death, he was condemned to life. It is terrible that he moved in Islamist circles, but he did not engage with those people responsible for this terrible act. He was arrested on August 16, 2001 for visa problems.
Zacarias will spend the rest of his life in prison. If he were to accept a visit from you, what would you say to him?
I have been in touch with him for the past five years, but FBI agents are always nearby and listen to our conversations. He couldn’t tell me how he ended up where he is now. I am sure he would have told me if we had been alone. But he cannot speak in front of the FBI agents. So there is always a barrier between us. But he says that he will read letters.
You encourage mothers around the world to be gatekeepers. In your daily work, do you communicate with mothers whose sons may be susceptible to extremists?
My message to all mothers and parents is: be watchful, and show respect and tolerance. It is not easy to raise children. When they are young, they are with us, but when they get older, they leave and you do not know what they are doing. It is not about Black or White, Jews, Arabs, or Christians—we must respect everyone. I am thinking of all the families who have lost someone. But my pain grows worse by the day. My son is buried alive.
Interview by Edit Schlaffer, founder of "Women without Borders" and SAVE (Sisters Against Violent Extremism). Translated by Elaine Hargrove, Anna Gabriel
Medium: Die Presse
Speaking Out Before it is Too Late! Women Know How
Understanding, reconciliation, forgiveness, compromises, and ideals are not terms that we immediately associate with negotiations at the international level. But why don’t we?
The answer is alarmingly simple: these characteristics are not particularly masculine in a classical sense, and the unwritten rules of Realpolitik are still based on power and dominance. The presence of women at high-level international summits is still an exception, and should not lead us to believe that the iron-clad agreement has been broken: there is still no room for women at the men’s table. This reality may be unfair, but it would not further bother us were it not for the fact that we cannot be certain that our futures lie in safe hands. We live in a global climate of fear, which maintains its balance by a through a curious paradox: state and non-state actors resolutely remain on opposite sides of the negotiating table—armed, often full of hate, suspicious at best; sometimes defensive, but generally in favor of total annihilation of the other party. This path is archaic and destructive, and has been dominated by men to date.
Global political power dynamics as well as gender roles have recently been turned upside down; now, increasing numbers of women are determined to be included in the security arena. They no longer simply let world events pass them by—a familiar, but often catastrophic tendency of past eras—and do not settle for the role of observer or of victim of riots, assault, and war.
Women have the potential to launch a new movement specialized in building bridges with ‘the other side’ and learning about “the enemy,” which motivational factors are at play, and how the hostilities can be transformed. The courageous dialogue currently taking place between a group of Indian and Pakistani women, who decided to meet during the anniversary of the Mumbai attacks at the Taj Hotel in the besieged city, is just one example of how new paths toward a future for both countries beyond hardened enemy lines can be established and secured.
In late November 2010, a delegation of Pakistani women traveled from Islamabad to Mumbai to develop joint strategies for a new, action-oriented dialogue. The trip was no simple touristic undertaking; half a century after partition, which had been accompanied by violent riots, and nuclear armament on both sides in recent years, the women now decided to take the first step toward change. They committed to engaging in a new dialogue and not falling victim to the old trap of talking without taking concrete action. SAVE, the world’s first female counter-terrorism platform, brought the group together. Both sides agreed to directly address the reality of what is happening on the ground and to openly speak about terrorism, but without pointing fingers—their goal is to achieve an emotional breakthrough.
This august resolution has been tested many times, for example when the organizer of the Indian delegation suggested that the group walk the ‘trail of terror’—that is, to visit the sites that were attacked on November 26, 2008. The women began at the Gateway of India, where the terrorists ditched their boats to enter the city, and then proceeded to Café Leopold, where young Mumbai inhabitants mixed with tourists from around the world—a scenario that the armed fanatics clearly did not approve of. They continued to Cama Albless Hospital, where they stood with a young widow from Pakistan who lost her husband in an attack in the Swat Valley, and took in the wall surrounding the hospital, which is still peppered with bullet holes. It is here that Ashok Kamte, Mumbai’s Associate Commissioner of Police, desperately fought with Ajmal Kasab, the young Pakistani terrorist. Kamte managed to shoot and injure Kasab, but paid for his valiant efforts with his life.
Vinita, his young widow, is also part of this women’s dialogue. Two fateful incidents brought these women together: shots fired in distant Pakistan and shots fired here in a narrow back alley behind a hospital in Mumbai.
The label ‘victim’ does not fully apply to these dynamic women. Yes, they experienced grief and desperation, but they came together in Mumbai to speak about finding new ways out terrorism, mutual stigmatization, and defamation. The attempts to overcome fear of ‘the other side,’ to speak openly about divisive factors, and to carefully stake out the terrain for shared activities have been successful.
This program is ambitious; a joint meeting currently underway in Vienna is taking concrete steps: it is an exploration of how to establish a dialogue process between both parties to overcome isolation and violent extremism. Women are perfectly positioned to spearhead this program in their respective societies, as they play a central role in their families, in the educational realm, and in daily community activities, and can thus uniquely identify dissatisfaction and frustration and counteract these sentiments with the appropriate tools.
Hillary Clinton has identified development as a central pillar of the global security structure. Poverty, exploitation, corruption, and dominance by a ruthless elite facilitate the growth of extremism, paving the way for religious and political fanaticism. Bertha von Suttner, an Austrian visionary and the first woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, shows us the way: “Those who want peace may not be silent.”
Medium: Die Presse
This was the 2010 Career Gala
On October 4, 2010, SAVE was invited to present its strategies at Der Standard’s (a leading Austrian daily newspaper) 2010 Career Gala in front of 750 guests and to elucidate why women are especially well positioned to mobilize against ideologies of violent extremism in their immediate surroundings.
Women Against Terrorism
The idea of smart power needs to be embraced so that there is less space for prejudice, says Edith Schlaffer (Women without Borders). Doing so will lead to a stronger culture of optimism.
There are more opportunities for engaging in civil society today than ever before, says Edith Schlaffer, Executive Director of Women without Borders. In 2008, she launched SAVE (Sisters Against Violent Extremism), the world’s first female counter-terrorism platform. Her motivation: “… women are close to the action, but have very limited access to the necessary means.” SAVE is a think tank that works closely with organizations on the ground. She was honored as one of the 21 Leaders of the 21st Century for her dedication and work. “Because we are better off, we have a moral responsibility to act,” says Schlaffer.
At the same time, she is working toward a culture of optimism. “Not without reservations,” she says, but without prejudice. The moderate potential of society must be heard more loudly. Because only when each individual is tamed can the world become a better place. “I do not believe in the good in the world per se, but I believe that we can make the world better,” she adds.
In order to do so, it is necessary to overcome fear of change and to be more optimistic when working to counter negative currents. “Because every day can be better than the day before.” (ost, DER STANDARD, Print edition 09/10/2010)
Medium: Der Standard
Control over Life and Death?
A Plea for a Policy of Emotional Breakthroughs
A commentary by Edit Schlaffer in the Austrian newspaper Die Presse on April 9th 2010
Medium: Die Presse
People need alternatives
Yemen: Nadia al Saqqaf is the only female editor-in-chief in a country dominated by men. She believes that Yemen needs to be saved from Al Qaeda.
By Livia Klingl
Nadia al Saqqaf is 33 years old, and has a daughter, a Jordanian husband, and no social life. Yemen, her home country and the poorest on the Arabian Peninsula, is far too traditional for her liking. The Kurier interviewed the humorous expert on security issues in Vienna.
Kurier: What is your assessment of your country?
Nadia al Saqqaf: Yemen was isolated for a long time. There is a political tendency to isolate the people from their future and their surroundings.
Because it is easier to govern isolated people who are kept in the dark?
Definitely. Yemen is tribal. The tribes are only interested in their immediate surroundings. If they were interested in the world, they would be more civilized. That would pose a number of challenges to those in power.
Is Yemen on its way to becoming a failed state?
There has been a great deal of speculation that Yemen will be the next Somalia. I doubt that. But now is certainly the most dangerous moment, because we are facing so many problems simultaneously, in addition to a weak state.
You mean the Sa’ada War in the Northwest; the southern part of the country that wants to secede; the terrorism that is bringing tourism to a standstill; and a million refugees from Somalia?
The southern movement was much stronger in the early 1990s, during the civil war. The northern Houthi rebellion is peaking; they have been fighting for years. Both sides are weak, then they recover, and then they go to war again. It is different today in the sense that earlier, there were no intermittent periods of healing. The number of displaced persons grew, and the infrastructure was increasingly damaged.
The USA and Saudi Arabia were also involved.
Their involvement is very artificial. Saudi Arabia came on board because the Houthis moved into Saudi territory to internationalize the war. Since 2004, the Houthis have never received international attention for their issues, and President Saleh always said that they were only of national concern.
Who gives money and weapons to the Houthis?
Analysts say that the money comes from Iran. They get weapons from the warlords, who are even present in the government. The government created the Houthis. It is the same as when the US faced the USSR as an enemy, and they invented Bin Laden. Then you have to feed the self-created group, or it will turn against you.
Our President used the Salafis, whose leader worked with Osama bin Laden and who presumably still works with Al Qaeda, against the Houthis, who belong to another sect of Islam. Sometimes he uses the socialists against the Islamists.
How many followers and camps does Al Qaeda have in Yemen?
Those figures are not publicized, but the decision-makers most certainly have them. The President’s half-brother oversees a camp in Sa’ada. He trained a number of Yemeni jihadists, and he received them after they returned from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Chechnya. Everybody knew about it, including the Americans.
One of the West’s biggest misinterpretations is that Al Qaeda is stronger today than it was before. In 2001, everyone named their son Osama. But when the people realized what kind of influence Al Qaeda had on their lives by killing tourists and the subsequent collapse of their businesses, everything changed. Today, the people say that it is ruining us. We want modernization.
What was the community of states supposed to achieve in Yemen?
There was an article in the New York Times that described how the President only cares about himself and his family. That’s correct! The international community and the donors should be somewhat ashamed of themselves. They should support the country, not the regime. They should view Yemen as a nation, not as ruling individuals. The West in particular supported the corrupt government, instead of avoiding them and working with civil society, the private sector, and NGOs. Why do the Yemenis chew qat (a drug) for six hours every day? Because they have nothing better to do.
SAVE, Sisters Against Violent Extremism
Women Who Protect Their Sons from Extremism
SAVE, the first female counter-terrorism platform, invited sixteen female security experts—from Northern Ireland to Pakistan—to Vienna to take part in a conference. The goal is to identify methods for providing alternative paths to those which include the bombing of as many people as possible to young men without perspective.
Growing numbers of men are getting involved in the initiative, says Edith Schlaffer, a social scientist and chairperson of the organization “Women without Borders”: “The women’s movement began through its work combating domestic violence. Twenty years later we can move the struggle from the home to the street” in the search for solutions to extremism and violent conflict.
Among others, SAVE works on media campaigns against violent extremism. Women must be activated to exert influence on - at times extremely violence-prone – youth. SAVE further seeks to take advantage of New Media, which Al Qaeda also employs to recruit new members.
Please click on the link below to download the German original.
Medium: Kurier
Anti-Terror Platform: “No Mother Wants Her Child to Kill”
Women´s organisations against extremism and terrorism. An article in the Austrian newspaper "Die Presse"
Women’s organizations want to stand up against extremism and terrorism. Women are advocating for positive change in their respective local societies.
Vienna. “We know what it means to lose a child or a brother. And we still do not want to exact revenge,” says Robi Damelin from Israel. “Someone who is considered your enemy suddenly talks about feeling the same pain,” says Siham Ikhlayel from Palestinian.
Both women know what it is like to lose a family member to armed conflict. Robi Damelin’s was shot by a Palestinian sniper; Siham Ikhlayel’s brother Yussuf was killed by an Israeli soldier at one of the many checkpoints in the Palestinian territories. Damelin and Ikhlayel belong to two opposing groups, but nonetheless decided—as simple as it may sound—to sit down at the same table to talk with one another.
“We are trying to deal with pain that could just as easily turn us into terrorists,” says Ikhlayel. For the past 15 years, the women have tried to bring together Israelis and Palestinians and to penetrate the climate of terror through their organization, the “Parents Circle.”
They visit schools in Israel as well as in the Palestinian territories and tell their personal stories of pain. “Israelis and Palestinians do not know each other at all,” says Damelin. Each side experiences a similar daily reality, however. “We do not have to love each other, but we have to learn to respect one another.”
Early Warning System for Extremism
Their organization belongs to the Austrian-based anti-terror platform “SAVE” (Sisters Against Violent Extremism), which combats the growing threats to security as well as terrorism. Women in the organization are advocating for positive change in their respective local societies. The women function as “a sort of early warning system, so that their children or husbands do not travel down the wrong path,” explains Edit Schlaffer, the Austrian founder of SAVE. During a conference in Vienna, the 16 representatives from different countries worked out their respective strategies.
“No mother wants her child to become a murderer,” says Anne Carr. The Irishwoman has worked to overcome the differences between Catholics and Protestants for decades, and was part of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. “The hate cannot be passed on to the next generation,” says Carr. One has to show that there are alternatives to terrorism.
The work in Northern Ireland is already bearing fruit. In countries such as Yemen, the movement is still brand new. Women there are currently trying to form groups in order to challenge the growing influence of Islamists in families.
To download the German original, please click on the link below.
Medium: Die Presse
Discussions with Mothers of Islamists
Women without Borders founded the anti-terror platform SAVE (Sisters Against Violent Extremism), which includes both survivors of bombings as well as the frequently extremely isolated mothers of young holy warriors (jihadists). Edit Schlaffer does not believe “in the good in the world;” she believes in the power of mothers to help their sons escape the trap of extremism. Not today, but maybe the day after tomorrow.
And since everything moves so slowly, and emancipation in Arabic countries is currently focused on the educated segments of society, Women without Borders attempts to fight against the singling out of the victims through grassroots campaigns, for example swim courses.
Several victims of the Mumbai terror attacks speak in problem schools as contemporary witnesses of terror, with financial support from the Taj Hotel Group.
Since the Tube attacks in London, the young PR agent Gill Hicks, who lost both her legs, has been one of the most dedicated activists. The young woman sits down with young Muslims and asks, “How does it help you in Palestine that I am sitting here without legs?”
The anti-terror platform is currently active in Yemen, Pakistan, India, Saudi Arabia, Great Britain, Spain, the US, and Indonesia, and is connected with local groups. SAVE receives financing from the EU and through research projects.
“It is a politics of small steps,” says Edit Schlaffer. But there are many women who take the risk and help to transform the societies in which they live in the long-term. They need support. This weekend, the first SAVE conference will be held at the Viennese Radisson Hotel (Parkring 15).
Please download the German original below.
Medium: Kurier
Women as Early Warning Systems
Comments on International Women’s Day in the Context of Terror Prevention: A Global Mothers’ Movement Against Violent Extremism is Fighting for a New Architecture of Peace.
A commentary by Edit Schlaffer
Please follow this link to read the English translation of the article: http://www.women-without-borders.org/news/uptodate/183/
Medium: Der Standard
derstandard.at/1267743429062/Kommentar-der-Anderen-Frauen-als-Fruehwarnsystem
Great Accomplishments in Small Steps
By Isabella Lechner, 18 February 2010, www.diestandard.at
The social scientist was selected as one of the “21 Leaders for the 21st Century” for her counter-terror platform SAVE – Sisters Against Violent Extremism.
“I don’t believe in the good in the world, but I believe that we can tame the bad,” says Edit Schlaffer, the chairwoman of Women without Borders. Women’s eNews, the leading US news agency, has selected the committed social scientist as one of the “21 Leaders for the 21st Century.”
“I am very excited to have been chosen-the recognition of SAVE Global serves to encourage all the women who are involved; I am only the symbolic figurehead,” said the “leading lady” during a discussion with dieStandard.at. Schlaffer is the first Austrian to receive the award; Sheikha Lubna, the UAE Minister for Economics and Planning, and the philanthropist Esther Hewlett have received the award in the past.
Women who advocate for improvements in women’s lives around the world are honored as “Leaders for the 21st Century.” Edit Schlaffer and the SAVE women attempt to do so on a daily basis through their personal fight for increased security: “We are trying to fight terrorism where it begins: at its base,” Schlaffer explains. “Women are the architects of a peaceful and equal world; they have good sensors for finding alternatives to violence and for developing a new culture of dialogue and social interaction.”
Against Violent Extremism
SAVE was founded in 2008 and brings together women from around the world who are determined to create a united front against violent extremism. Through innovative pilot projects, the local population is motivated and integrated. “It is a gentle approach that builds trust,” says Schlaffer. “The word ‘dialogue’ is like an old, dusty relict that has been shaped by influential old men at the highest levels. We want to introduce a new dynamic, new content, and new participants, to make the world more stable. Security is not only a question of military might and arms, but primarily of meeting and talking to ‘the other.’
SAVE is active in India, Yemen, Pakistan, Israel, and Palestine, as well as in Spain, Northern Ireland, and the UK, where the increasingly mixed society is creating the potential for conflict. “From our headquarters in Vienna, we first reach out to partners, like women’s groups, journalists, bloggers, and women’s media groups, in each country. At the same time, we seek to speak with officials and those in power,” says Schlaffer. In Yemen, for example, the SAVE team met with the Minister for Religious Endowment and Guidance, who is responsible for the country’s counter-terrorism program. “So far, we have immediately been granted meetings upon request—we have clearly hit a nerve with our initiative.”
Turning Point
SAVE is financed through EU and research projects. The pivotal point that led Edit Schlaffer to form the initiative was a meeting between two women after 9/11: “The mother of one of the terrorists who had been trained to fly into the twin towers apparently apologized to the victims’ loved ones for her son’s actions. The mother of one of the victims then contacted her, with the aim of reconciliation. That was the turning point for me to start at an initiative with the goal of empowering women for positive change.”
When working in countries with other cultures, SAVE does not simply attempt to import Western concepts, but rather to work with local resources. In many countries, for example, the role of the mother is celebrated—the SAVE campaign “Mothers for Change!” takes advantage of this potential. “We empower and train women and mothers to sensitize youth and to protect them from the traps of extremist organizations,” Schlaffer explains. “Mothers are especially interested in ensuring safety and security in their immediate surroundings and can act as an early warning system in the fight against terrorism: they can sound the alarm when their children or husbands start to travel down the wrong path. When women have the correct tools to gain authority within the patriarchal familial structure and society, they will be able to exert greater influence on their children’s future.”
Creating Encounters
A further project has the goal of bringing together young people who are susceptible to the allure of extremism with survivors of terror attacks or victims’ family members, to show that terrorism achieves no results other than unspeakable suffering. In Mumbai, for example, SAVE brought together a group of women after the 2008 attacks, where many of them had the opportunity to speak about their experiences for the first time.
The inclusion of women in countries in which women are traditionally marginalized can be dangerous, but there are many brave women who are ready to take this risk to change their societies in the long-term, says Edit Schlaffer. “It is policy comprised of smalls steps, but if we don’t take them today, we will miss out tomorrow.”
Medium: dieStandard
diestandard.at/1266279037850/Edit-Schlaffer-Grosse-Leistung-in-kleinen-Schritten
"Fast alle Väter fühlen sich ertappt"
Medium: Die Presse am Sonntag
diepresse.com/home/leben/mensch/539556/index.do?from=suche.intern.portal
A New Alliance Against Terror Cells!
A commentary by Edit Schlaffer in the Austrian daily newspaper "Die Presse"
Medium: Die Presse
26/11 victims need to come together to tide over trauma
Please download the article below to read an interview with Edit Schlaffer in the Indian newspaper Hindustan Times.
Medium: Hindustan Times
Media coverage SAVE launches India, Jan/Feb 09
At the end of January/February 2009 we launched SAVE - Sisters Against Violent Extremism, the first female anti-terror platform in India: New Delhi, Lucknow and Mumbai. Please click here to read a selection of the Indian media reports.
With Women’s Weapons
Kurier-Thursday, December 18, 2008
Series: Career Paths
Edit Schlaffer, “Woman without Borders,” on Ice Cold Feelings and Trained Men
Career Paths: Edit Schlaffer, Founder of “Women without Borders,” on Ice Cold Feelings and Thoroughly Trained Men in the Household
When Laura Bush visited Vienna in 2006, the only political meeting she noticed was with Edit Schlaffer. “The phone rang, and the White House was on the other end,” the founder of Women without Borders says, and laughs. At first she thought it was a joke, but it wasn’t. “Earlier I gave a speech at Columbia University. Someone from the First Lady’s staff must have been there.”
Against Terror The meeting between the two women turned out to be extraordinarily fruitful. “This is how we got in touch with the State Department”—which today partially finances SAVE. SAVE, these are “Sisters Against Violent Extremism,” the first women’s anti-terror platform, which Schlaffer presented to the public at the beginning of this month.
When terms such as “women” and “violence” are in the same sentence, this activist cannot be stopped. “Are you sure, that you wanted to ask that,” the 58-year old jokes. “Because I can talk about that for days.” It does not stop with talk. Actions follow the words. Not infrequently coordinated from Schlaffer’s kitchen table. Knitting circles? These women’s circles are far from it. Here, the mother of a terrorist is sitting next to the mother of a victim; both are working on strategies for how to save the sons of the future generation from extremism. Schlaffer: “We just have to be a little rebellious, then we will push through a lot.”
Just like after the genocide in Rwanda, where Schlaffer’s organization brought together enemy Hutu and Tutsi girls in a soccer club. She also instituted voting training for Afghani women and was the first Western group to research living conditions for young men and women in Saudi Arabia. “Passion drives everything for me,” Schlaffer says. “I like being a part of world history. That is exciting, it pushes me. If we do nothing, we are also guilty.”
Even at the beginning of her career, the internationally renowned social scientist did not only make friends—for example when she declared her area of study “Violence in Marriage,” then a taboo theme.
Kurier: Do you deal easily with criticism?
Edit Schlaffer: I’m not exactly thin-skinned. If people have problems with me or with my competencies, that is their problem. I do not have to turn that into my problem. That is my life philosophy.
But women do have the tendency, to take things personally.
Yes, but one has to train one’s self to get rid of this habit. Feelings belong in the refrigerator, when you move outside in the world. And when women do not want to decide between career and family, they also have to train their men.
Have you done this?
Luckily my husband was already well established, because strong women raised him. He felt responsible for making breakfast and for taking the children to kindergarten and to school. We had a good time with each other.
Would you like to be Minister for Women’s Affairs?
Ministers for Women’s Affairs have thus far been toothless tigers. Recently I read that Ms. Bures was just promoted from Minister for Women’s Affairs to Minister for Infrastructure—that was fairly telltale. Women’s affairs are not taken seriously.
Where would you begin?
With Fair-Share Models. One has to act with consequences, so that men and women are equally challenged in both areas—career and family. Without this it does not work, and everything else is laughable. Not enough children are born, because the women are overworked. Women often work in positions that are wrong for them. Five generations of Ministers for Women’s Affairs have complained about unequal pay, and how the scissors are opening. This is slowly becoming a joke.
Schlaffer questioned:
“The Answers can be found in Simone de Beauvoir”
As I child I wanted…to take the world by force.
My leadership style…egalitarian-empathetic.
Success for me is…happiness.
I have been supported by…women all over the world.
I am scared…of lack of time.
A book that inspires…The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir. All answers are in it – for example the analysis of power relations: inequality is not personal failure.
I am proud of…the introduction of SAVE, the first global platform for female diplomacy.
The biggest challenge…remaining positive in times of crisis—using the tactic of small steps.
My greatest shortcoming…my impatience.
The most overrated virtue…striving for harmony.
Edit Schlaffer’s Life:
Childhood: Edit Schlaffer was born in 1950 in Südburgenland. She was raised on a farm—“with long summers and cow-herding.” Entrepreneurial women surrounded her. “My grandmother, a young widow, built up the farmyard herself, and my mother was a teacher when it was termed “unfair” to take the position away from a man. The message was clear to me: women can do everything, and they want a lot.”
University: Schlaffer went to Vienna to study journalism and sociology. She remains at university and begins researching women. She understands herself to be a feminist.
Two Careers: In 1980, she took over leadership at the Ludwig Boltzmann Research Institute for Politics and Interpersonal Relations. She stays there until 2004. In 2002 she founded the globally active NGO “Women without Borders.”
Private: Schlaffer has been with her husband, a psychology professor, for 33 years. “We married late and today are survivors in the divorce jungle.” The couple has two children: Laura (22) and Rafael (20). The feminist’s hobbies: hiking—and cooking.
Medium: Kurier
BBC Newshour - Interview with Rachel North and Beatriz Abril Alegre
Medium: BBC Worldservice
Global Anti-Terror-Platform “SAVE” Sits for the First Time in Vienna
Diplomacy – The Members Turn the Fight into a Women’s Affair
Kurier, 30. December 2008
This weekend, Vienna is setting for the first worldwide women’s anti-terror platform. With their “soft skills,” i.e. dialogue and networks, the sisters of SAVE (“Sisters Against Violent Extremism”) want to fight against extremism. The US State Department is sharing the costs. The headquarters are in Vienna; the participant’s list is impressive.
The Kurier spoke with some of the women, each of whom, in her own way, saw terror in the eye.
***
Rachel North (37) was surprised by a bomb in the London Underground on her way to work on July 7, 2005. She was in the same carriage as the attacker. The train was overcrowded. The tightly packed bodies in front of her took the brunt of the explosion; Rachel survived.
“When the bomb exploded, the lights went out, thick, black smoke filled the carriage, it was impossible to see or to breathe, it was as if we were sinking to the bottom of the ocean.
Suddenly someone screamed: ‘Whoever isn’t hurt, stand up and hold the person next to you by the hand. Take care of the injured.’ And the people did what the voices told them to do.
In the darkness, however, we couldn’t tell if the hand belonged to a Jew, a Hindu, and Muslim, if it was black or white, female or male. The only thing you knew was: this hand in your hand is your rescue, and you are theirs.
I would like to tell this story to a future terrorist, because it was the most important lesson in my life: when it came to the worst, we did not trample all over each other. We held hands – that saved our lives.
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Hadiyah Masieh (31) from London was recruited as a young university student by the radical Hizb ut-Tahrir (The Liberation Party), with the goal or replacing the government with a Kalifat. After ten years, she left.
“In the female hierarchy, I was the third from the top. For a teenager this is very enticing. A ‘secret committee’ votes you in. Then you belong. You fight for equality. Underground. That is romantic.
As the leaders held their speeches, I cried. They said: ‘these people rape our women and slit open their bellies. Then they steal our resources. You must do something about this.’ One of the listeners was so enraged that he later wrapped a belt with explosives around himself. The Jihad Movement helped him. That movement is something like the second-degree cousin to the Liberation Party. This path has many perfidies. I know this, I have seen them. I wasted my youth with the party.”
***
Robi Damelin (65) from Israel is a representative from the Parents Circle, which brings together Palestinian and Jewish parents who have lost their children in attacks. Robi’s son, a student and peace activist, was killed during military service that he took part in against his beliefs.
“I spoke with a Palestinian school class, and a child said: ‘Your child deserved to die.’ I was stunned. What should I answer? And then the girl told me how she had lost her family members. She only knew Israel as settlers or as soldiers who kept her at the Checkpoint for three hours and did not let her go to school. Then I knew what to say: ‘What color were your tears?’ and she understood. I felt what she felt. During the break, she came to me and hugged me.
The man that killed David did not know who he was. I want us to know each other. Then we can also speak with each other.
Tip: Presentation of SAVE on Monday, December 1, at 10 am in Palais Schönburg, 4., Rainergasse 11 (Vienna)
Interview
“We also want to invite the radicals”
Edith Schlaffer, sociologist and founder of “Women without Borders,” about SAVE.
Kurier: What qualifies women in the fight against violence and terror?
Edith Schlaffer: Women are very good listeners, and one must listen in order to be able to negotiate. In Liberia, for example, women took reconstruction in their hands after a catastrophic civil war. Today the president is a woman; the UN acknowledges rape as a weapon of war. Without their engagement this never would have happened.
But how can women penetrate the closed male cliques that storm hotels with hand grenades?
The cliques are not immediately closed, it is a slow process. We want mothers to take action when they sense their sons’ helplessness. This does not yet work, because they have no status in the community, no one listens to them. We have to empower them.
And how?
For example with self-confidence trainings. Women must understand that they are no toys of male dominance, but that they may assert themselves for the wellbeing of their families. Had we started ten years ago, we would have a different generation today. But we also want to invite members of radical groups. This has not been done enough. When you seek dialogue with them, they are very surprised, but ready to speak - as long as you lay your cards on the table.
Medium: Kurier
"There is no place we are safe"
Women without Borders. The first female anti-terror platform was founded in Vienna.
Die Presse, 2. December 2008
Vienna. Robi Damelin’s son was killed as he completed his military service in the occupied Palestinian areas. Najwa Saadeh, from Palestine, lost her 12-year old daughter in an Israeli attack. Beatriz Abril’s brother was on his way to university when the Madrid train in which he was sitting was torn to shreds by a bomb.
The women that came together this weekend in Vienna to found the first women’s anti-terror platform came from all over: from Lebanon and from the Netherlands, from the US, from Iraq and Afghanistan. And from India: When Archana Kapoor left Delhi just a few days ago to fly to Vienna, she felt “so safe.” But then young men in Mumbai caused a bloodbath.
“That was a reminder, that we are not safe. That there is no place out there in which we are safe,” says “Women without Borders” founder Edit Schlaffer. Her new initiative is appropriately called “Save” – “Sisters against Violent Extremism” – and it should make the world safer by bringing together women: survivors of terrorist attacks, family members, and activists. They will meet each other and together develop strategies to mobilize against terror and violence.
The female anti-terror platform already took their first action yesterday: two young women from London who want to work together visited a group of young Muslims in Vienna. These are extraordinary women: Rachel North, a young advertising specialist. On July 7, 2005, she was in the London underground when a bomb exploded in her train. She survived and since advocates for the victims. And Hadiyah Masieh, a former member of the radical Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir.
“They seduced me”
At age 18, the intelligent economics student converted to Islam. “Before I had been very critical of Islam, but that seemed unfair to me, so I started learning about it,” Hadiyah tells the “Presse.” At 19, the Islamist group recruited her at the London campus. “We made friends, they became my family. I was looking for answers, and they had some. They seduced me with their answers.”
She became the team leader of the Islamist group for West London, organized events and discussions. The overarching goal of the antidemocratic organization: a unified Islamist state, a “caliphate,” in which Sharia, the Islamic law, ruled.
The Islamists had painted a “beautiful picture” of the world: “They wanted a peaceful world, but they approached it with anger and hate.” They had never openly supported violent. “But feelings develop which make it very possible, that young people would want to take another step.” One of the attackers in the Glasgow Airport attack attended Hizb ut-Tahrir events.
After seven years with Hizb ut-Tahrir Hadiyah left the organization, because she realized that their political ideas has little in common with Islam. In the future, she wants to work with Rachel North to show young Muslims that religiosity and the desire for justice do not have to lead to extremism. “A bomb victim and an ex-Islamist: They will remember us!”
“We both lost our sons”
Two women have known each other for quite some time: Phyllis Rodriguez and Aicha el Wafi. Rodriguez’s son worked as an Internet expert on the 104th floor of the World Trade Center—he did not survive.
El Wafi’s son, on the other hand, is Zacarias Moussaoui: He was convicted as the “20th hijacker” for participation in the attacks on September 11, 2001. The two terror-tested mothers are close friends: “We have a lot in common, we both lost our sons.”
Medium: Die Presse
Vienna: Survivors of Terrorist Attacks and Ex-Members at the same Table
Women without Borders Founded International Women’s Network Against Terrorism: “We want to stand up and raise our voices”
Vienna – The organization “Women without Borders” founded an international network against terrorism, SAVE (Sisters Against Violent Extremism), in Vienna. “Terror is a part of our lives, even in Europe. We want to stand up and raise our voices,” says Edit Schlaffer, Chair of “Women without Borders,” at a press conference Monday morning. At the first global anti-terror platform for women this weekend, 35 female activists composed a declaration against violence and terror.
The goal of “Save” is to build political bridges for a culture of peace and against a climate of fear, according to Schlaffer. For this reason, survivors of terrorist attacks, victims’ family members, ex-members of radical organizations, and activists came together this weekend for the first Save conference to develop strategies against terrorism.
Everyone shares “the same pain”
“We all share the same pain,” said the Israeli Robi Damelin, whose son was killed by a Palestinian sniper at a checkpoint during his military service. “There is no difference between an Israeli and a Palestinian mother who has lost her child.” Damelin is a member of the organization “Bereaved Families Forum,” to which some 500 families now belong. Through talks in classrooms, Damelin seeks to show Israeli and Palestinian school children “the people behind the stigma.”
Najma Ahmed Abdi, of the Somali organization “Save Somali Women and Children” said: “Together we have one voice. We must not let them [terrorists] frighten us.” Women are the first and last victims of wars, even if they are innocent, because they do not carry the weapons,” so the activist. That violence such as female genital mutilation is still practiced in her country humiliates her.
“What am I even doing here?”
“The first meeting of Save was very productive. We are sharing experiences and can learn from each other,” explains Hadiya Masieh from London. She is an ex-member of a radical organization. As a young student, Hizb ut-Tahrir (The Liberation Party) recruited her; ten years later she left the group. The organization introduced “bad ideas” to the youth, and at some point she asked herself: “What am I even doing here?” Since leaving the organization, Masieh has been involved in charitable societies working to promote increased tolerance.
The participants in the Save-Network now want to share the experiences they gained with their respective countries. “The activists work in their immediate surroundings to achieve our goals,” says Schlaffer. “Save, headquartered in Vienna, plays the role of a PR organization, to increase awareness for our work.” (APA)
Medium: dieStandard
NGO Activists Question the Islamist Assumption
“Terror in Mumbai part of ‘a political agenda’”
Der Standard, 29. November 2008
Mumbai/Vienna – The Minister of the Interior may speak of a Pakistani who belonged to a terror commando and who was arrested; the chief of government in the state of Maharashtra, Vilasrao Desmukh, of two Brits of Pakistani origin: Indian NGO activists who specialize in questions of terror and violence do not necessarily want to believe the thesis of Islamist attackers in Mumbai. “Every month there are attacks in India, and every time they get the label of an Islamist group. It is so easy,” says Hasina Kharbhih. She runs an NGO in Meghalaya, in Northeast India, and today is in Vienna for the founding of an international women’s network against violence.
Astha Kapoor, a young civil activist from Delhi, also does not accept the quick finger pointing by the media and the ministers. She suspects there is a “larger political agenda” behind the terror in Mumbai, a carefully planned attack only months before the Indian parliamentary elections. The army moved so slowly that the opposition, the Hindu Party BJP, had enough time to accuse the government of failure in the face of terror.
Muslims Intimidated
Kapoor and Kharbhih report frustration and intimidation of Muslims in India. “It is easy for the police to single out Muslim youth at will,” says Kapoor, referencing the security forces’ raids after the attacks in her hometown Delhi last September. Over 30 female NGO activists from Asia, Africa, the Near East, and South America are in Vienna this weekend to found the network “Save” (“Sisters Against Violent Extremism”), and initiative by Edit Schlaffer’s “Women without Borders.”
Medium: Der Standard
Faith in Harmony
An article on our recent conference "Muslims and the West: Living together - but how?" written by WwB Team member Mehru Jaffer and published in the Kasmir Times.
Medium: Kashmir Times
www.southasianmedia.net/index_opinion.cfm?category=women&country=india#Faith%20in%20harmony
"Wir, die erleuchteten Vollzeit-Muslime"
An interview with Ed Husain
Medium: Die Presse
www.diepresse.com/home/politik/aussenpolitik/339135/index.do
Brains under the Veils
An article featuring Women without Borders´ programs in Saudi Arabia
Medium: The Saudi Gazette
"Terrorismus hat viel mit männlicher Ehre zu tun"
A round table with Edit Schlaffer, Anita Pratap, Phyllis Rodriguez and Aicha el Wafi
Medium: Kurier
Die Wut und das Mitgefühl
Phyllis Rodriguez and Aicha el Wafi
Medium: Die Presse
www.diepresse.com/home/spectrum/zeichenderzeit/298863/index.do
Eine Frau durchbricht die Mauer des Schweigens
Saudi Arabien - Rania al Baz
Medium: Kurier
Frauen, die sich stark machen
Medium: Salzbruger Nachrichten
"Unter Saddam Hussein hätte das nicht passieren können"
Medium: Dir Presse
Engagierte Frauen als Zielscheiben
Laura Bush: "To empower women worldwide"
Laura Bush for Empowerment of Women
Medium: Wiener Zeitung
www.wienerzeitung.at/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=3940&Alias=wzo&cob=236887
The Whitehouse Webpage
Medium: The Whitehouse
www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/06/images/20060621-6_p062106sc-0090-515h.html
Initiativen zur Stärkung der Frauen weltweit
Iraq - Drama to cope with trauma
Medium: Women´s Feature Service
Now, Tamil Nadu women learn swimming to confront future Tsunamis
Medium: newKerala.com
Fischerwomen in Tsunami-hit areas are now learning to swim
Medium: DNA Daily News&Analysis
Empowering Women through Sports
An article on "Women swimming into the Future!", a WwB pilot project in the South Indian Tsunami-hit region.
Medium: The Hindu
"Es ist ja nur Afrika" (german version)
Medium: Profil
Elitäre Männer und die Elite der Frauen (german version)
Medium: Die Presse
International Women´s Day 2005 (german)
Edit Schlaffer, chair of Women without Borders speak in Die Presse, an Austrian Newspaper (german version).