In Conversation with Izzeldin Abuelaish
VIEW EVENT DETAILSThe Hong Kong International Literary Festival 2012
Born and raised in the Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish has overcome many hardships, including poverty and violence, to become one of the most outspoken, prominent and beloved researchers, educators and public speakers on peace. Deborah Kan talks to this Nobel Peace Prize nominee on war, peace, forgiveness and hope.
Dr Izzeldin Abuelaish is known as "the Gaza Doctor." He authored bestselling book I Shall Not Hate, which chronicles his life growing up in Gaza, and the development of his outlook on life and peace in Israel and Palestine. Dr Abuelaish's three daughters were killed during the war on Gaza in January 2009, minutes before he was to speak live on an Israeli TV program. That raw and painful cry of a parent was heard around the world and may have contributed to ending the military invasion. In 2010, Dr. Abuelaish founded Daughters for Life Foundation to help improve lives of girls and women in the Middle East by providing them with scholarships and other education programs; he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in the same year and received many awards for his contribution to the fight for peace in Gaza.
Dr Abuelaish received scholarship to study medicine in Cairo, Egypt, and received a diploma from the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of London. He obtained his Master’s degree in public health from Harvard University. He currently lives in Toronto with his five remaining children, and is an Associate Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.
Deborah Kan (Moderator) is currently Executive Producer of The Wall Street Journal. She was the only television journalist from Asia to accompany New York Philharmonic on its recent trip to Pyongyang, North Korea. She convened a program of interviews, Talk with Deborah Kan, with business and world leaders on Star World Channel. She is the recipient of New York Festivals award for a series on the plight of Vietnamese refugees living in China.
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