On
Monday, January 17 2011, George Mason University’s seminar on reflective
practice, a graduate requirement of the Institute for Conflict Analysis
and Resolution, was privileged to spend over an hour and a half in deep
conversation with Her Excellency Asma al-Assad, the First Lady of Syria,
at the Palace in Damascus, Syria. Professor Marc Gopin, Director of
Mason’s Center for World Religion’s, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution,
led the discussion, along with Ms. Hind Kabawat, Director, CRDC-Damascus.
The twenty undergraduates and graduates, including a number of students
from American universities taking Mason’s course, were universally
astonished by the depth and breadth of the First Lady’s knowledge and
her unique insights into cutting edge approaches to solutions for global
problems. Marc Gopin noted, “It is as is if she had mastered every major
theory of our field, and then created a few of her own. I have never
even thought of framing the relationship between people-to-people work
and politics in her way-and I wrote a couple of books on it.” The First
Lady had noted that politics is necessary for human relations, but it is
only people-to-people work that changes reality. People-centered
development work, and work with youth to give them the passion for
learning and developing each in their own way creates the only real
change in a society.Students asked about the challenges of economic systems and skills that have stagnated over time, and she noted how education for youth that centers on enabling their own skills to emerge creates the most flexibility of systems over time. The First Lady has therefore pioneered a broad range of national youth projects and civil society initiatives in recent years, including for the rural communities. The First Lady discussed her approach to child rearing which emphasizes the enabling of the gifts inside the child, choosing herself to be a guide rather than a commander.
The First Lady also emphasized, in response to a question from Dema, a Palestinian-American Mason student, that Syrian identity is in its essence Jewish, Christian, Palestinian, Muslim, and many, many other groups. It is not proper to speak of Syria as a place of tolerance or coexistence, which are insufficient adjectives to describe the deep nature of pride and identity in multiple religions that defines what it is to be Syrian. Referring to Dora Europas, an ancient city of Syria that was purposely shared by pagans, Christians and Jews, the First Lady indicated that this ancient city’s character is a part of her identity, an essential part of her educational upbringing. Dr. Gopin expressed hope, and the First Lady agreed, that many more classes should be taught in Damascus, and she offered her generous support and help in the future.