“We refuse to be enemies.”  Today we had the privilege of visiting the Nassar family at their farm, Tent of Nations.  Again and again, they repeated their motto as they told their story, “we refuse to be enemies”…”we are not leaving our land and we are not reacting”…”if we react the circle of violence never ends”…”we refuse to be enemies”…”we are people who believe in justice”…”we continue our struggle with three basic things: faith, hope, and love”…”we refuse to be enemies.”

Hearing about all this family has been though during the last 33 years to protect their land, hearing this phrase, “we refuse to be enemies” was jarring, inspiring, and heartbreaking.  How could this be possible in the face of so much violence?  And yet, “we refuse to be enemies.”

A grape vine on the farm

I keep wondering what it would be like if we all refused to be enemies?  What is being asked of us with this phrase?  What might be possible if we really lived it?  I have no answers, but in the midst of a day filled with much polarization, side-taking, and stances pushing toward violence, the Nassar’s stance of refusing to be enemies felt like a revolution.

To learn more about Tent of Nations please go to https://tentofnations.com/about-us/.

One of the five illegal settlements that surround the Tent of Nations

~Celene Lillie