2019 was an eventful year in terms of nonviolent resistance and people power! In Sudan, people demanded the resignation of their government and the 30 year-old regime toppled. (See more about NVI’s involvement below) In Algeria, Iraq and Hong Kong, relentless protests have pressured regimes to accommodate to their demands and protests continue. Anger over specific pieces of legislation and demands for greater reform occurred in India, Bulgarians, and Indonesia. Massive protests against society's growing inequality and corruption among government officials have occurred in Honduras, Iran, Romania, France, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Guatemala, Chile, Peru, Nicaragua, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, and Argentina. Minority groups such as West Papuans, Kashmiri's, Uighurs, indigenous peoples, Palestinians, and Sahrawis cry out for attention and change. And all around the world, nonviolent movements led by 350.org, Fridays for Future, and Extinction Rebellion, have emerged to draw attention to the severity of climate change and the fossil fuel industry's destruction of our planet.

As an organization, Nonviolence International seeks to promote nonviolent solutions by providing educational materials and training programs As a backbone organization for people power campaigns, we provide fiscal sponsorship for many groups such as the International Action Network on Small Arms, Holy Land Trust, We Are Not Numbers, and Gaza Freedom Flotilla. In addition, Control Arms, a civil society network we sponsor that seeks to implement the international Arms Trade Treaty earned a spot on the shortlist of the Peace Research Institute Oslo for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize. In May, the Center for Jewish Nonviolence led a group of 45 Jewish activists from across North America to Israel-Palestine to stand in coresistance with their Palestinian and Israeli partners. Over nine days, they learned, worked, and connected with partners in the South Hebron Hills, East Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Ramallah, Givat Amal, and Lyd/Lod. And throughout 2019, our partners at Holy Land Trust have engaged in their Home Rebuilding 2019 Campaign to help Palestinians in the West Bank who have lost their homes to Israeli demolitions.

We have been working diligently to prepare our Digital Library of Nonviolent Resistance for a launch in 2020, the world's largest collection of nonviolence training materials. Collaborating with Rutgers University International Institute for Peace (IIP), this digital library provides free online access to a digital collection of training manuals and related material, such as reports on training workshops, tools, exercises, preparatory material for campaigns, and legal and direct action handouts. With its launch occurring this past November, we hope our archive can be used by educational institutions and civil society networks engaged in the training of nonviolent resistance for decades to come.

Alongside our larger organizational initiatives, Nonviolence International has continued to provide direct training and support to students and proponents of nonviolent resistance all around the world. In March of this year, our founder Mubarak Awad traveled to Israeli to teach a course on nonviolent studies at Haifa University. During his time there, he published an op-ed in The Jersusalem Post which detailed steps Palestinians and Israelis could take in the April elections to promote peace between the two groups.

At around the same time, our Executive Director Michael Beer was working tirelessly to support the nonviolent campaign in Sudan to help the country transition to a system of democratic governance after enduring ex-President Omar al-Bashir's autocratic rule for 30 years. Nonviolence International helped democratic opposition leaders by providing webinars and consultations regarding nonviolent resistance and the tactics used to succeed by such means. On at least four occasions since April when ex-President al-Bashir was removed from power, Michael Beer discussed strategies that the campaign could employ to keep up their resistance to the Transitional Military Council such as the dynamics that go into launching a successful general strike. Michael's webinars were extremely impactful, with more than 250,000 views, as the Sudanese people rewarded him and other friends and allies of Nonviolence International with a mural dedicated to them in downtown Khartoum.

With so much great work done this year, there is even more work to be done next year! We thank you for your support of our organization and hope to continue to lead the way in promoting and nonviolent culture and nonviolent resistance to solve the conflicts of our world.

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EVERY LIFE, A UNIVERSE

Every Life, A Universe

End the Suffering: Global Days of Remembrance and Action

October 6, 7, and 8

#EveryLifeAUniverse

Nonviolence International invites you—communities, congregations, institutions, and individuals throughout the world—to commemorate the one-year mark of October 7th in a way that renews our resolve for justice and peace. Let us remember and honor the sacredness of every life, grief for those lost over decades of violence and oppression, and acknowledge those who are in pain today: those who have lost loved ones, are injured, abducted, displaced, whose homes have been destroyed, and who suffer from hunger and illness.

Through our grief and remembrance, let us renew our commitment to never give up on justice and peace between Palestinians and Israelis

We invite you for three days of remembrance and action by doing the following:

Wear a black ribbon or armband during these days. We want to see people all around the world, in our cities and towns, workplaces, and educational institutions, wear black ribbons or armbands in order to create the collective consciousness of grief for lives that haven been lost. You are also welcomed to write "Every life, a Universe" on your ribbons or armbands.
Organizing community vigils, sit-ins, sharing circles, walks, events, fundraisers, days of fasting, and humanitarian efforts for each of the days;

On October 6th, you are invited to remember the decades of the past and decry the mistreatment and suffering of Palestinians caused by Israeli policies of expulsion, imprisonment, apartheid, siege, and occupation.

On October 7th, you are invited to remember and decry the violent attacks by Hamas and others, including the hostage-taking, and the death of over 1,000 Israelis in a single day.

On October 8th, you are invited to remember and decry the launch and continuation of Israeli attacks on Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, the killing of over 40,000 individuals, the injury of over 80,000, the displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilians and the abduction of thousands from their homes and families.
Use the hashtag: #EveryLifeAUniverse on your social media and share your activities on the following Facebook page so others can join you and for all of us to know what you are doing Facebook Page.

Join us in your own way to say that violence, whether in defense or for liberation, is not the answer. Only nonviolence, which dismantles systems of oppression and violence and calls for collective justice and equality, will ensure that Israelis and Palestinians can live together in safety, peace, and justice.

Goals:

To create global momentum that transcends the dichotomy of right versus wrong and unites us in a collective call to end all suffering. Our aim is to move forward toward achieving peace and justice for everyone.
We seek to establish a unified ritual space where we can come together to acknowledge and process the past. This includes confronting grief, grievances, and the structures and systems of oppression that have perpetuated suffering across decades.
Our objective is to reframe the Israeli-Palestinian crisis in a way that fosters a shared vision of equality, justice, and reconciliation. By doing so, we hope to encourage and mobilize collective actions to end the suffering.
We want to remind everyone that we are the change-makers we have been waiting for. If we don't act now, the suffering will continue and intensify.

Explore our Tool Kit on how to participate in the Global Days of Remembrance and Action, filled with actionable steps and resources: Tool Kit

"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." —Rumi

UNARMED CIVILIAN PROTECTION: LATEST UPDATES AND DEVELOPMENTS FROM PALESTINE

The Flotilla ships currently being prevented from leaving port by the Turkish Port Authorities

on September 12 Freedom Flotilla has announced that the demonstration to release the Flotilla ships currently being prevented from leaving port by the Turkish Port Authorities, continues in Istanbul. and they are calling for help;

We need your help in getting international media to cover this historic protest and help put pressure on the government to release the ships, ensuring we can sail towards Gaza.

HOW TO HELP:

1. Call, email and/or demonstrate at Turkish embassies and consulates and demand that the Freedom Flotilla ships be released and allowed to deliver aid to Gaza immediately.

2. Tag mainstream accounts in this post or when you share our photos to your stories.

3. Message the social media page of the Ministry of Transport and Foreign Affairs @tcdisisleri & @uabakanligi on IG and on X

4. Share our videos using the hashtags #WeWillSail and #LetThemSail tagging @tcdisisleri and @uabakanligi

#WeWillSail #LetThemSail #TheFreedomFlotilla #FFC #Istanbul #Turkiye #Turkey #mavimarmara

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi Killed While Peacefully Protecting Palestinians

Nonviolence International has long supported third-party nonviolent action around the world and in Palestine/Israel through training, research, fiscal sponsorship, and advocacy. NVI strongly encourages well-meaning visitors, delegations, and organized solidarity accompaniment and co-resistance to go to Palestine/Israel. This page highlights some of the many activities by courageous international people and groups in Palestine/Israel who seek to protect civilians and human rights.

On September 3, 2024, Aysenur Ezgi Eygi traveled to the occupied West Bank to join the unarmed civilian protection (UCP) group, the International Solidarity Movement (ISM)/Faz3a. According to her family, she felt a deep responsibility to stand with Palestinian civilians facing ongoing repression and violence, particularly from settlers. On September 6, 2024, while attending a peaceful protest in Beita, Eygi was tragically shot in the head by an Israeli soldier. Source.

A photo of Aysenur Eygi during her graduation.

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was born on July 27, 1998, in Turkey and raised in Seattle, Washington. She graduated from Seattle Central College in 2022 with an Associate’s degree in Art and completed her Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Psychology with a minor in Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures at the University of Washington in June 2024. She was actively involved in pro-Palestinian activism and was considering pursuing graduate studies in Near Eastern archaeology.

Nonviolence International, an organization dedicated to promoting nonviolent resistance and human rights, strongly condemns the killing of Eygi. We express deep outrage at the violent suppression of peaceful protests towards both Palestinians and internationals. This tragic incident underscores the dangers faced by activists advocating for basic human and civil rights in the occupied territories. Nonviolence International reaffirms its commitment to supporting peaceful activism and standing in solidarity with those resisting oppression.

Please call on the United Nations, Turkey, and the United States of America to launch independent investigations and to take measures to protect everyone.

To support our partners involved in UCP in Palestine, please visit the following:

https://www.nonviolenceinternational.net/ucpnp_partner

https://www.nonviolenceinternational.net/ffc_freedom_flotilla_coalition

https://www.nonviolenceinternational.net/cjnv_partner

ISM Palestine

Faz3a