When you are at peace with yourself, you can spread peace around you, believes Mawahib Al Shaibani who is working in turmil-hit regions of Iraq and Syria. She speaks to Saritha Saraswathy Balan about her life-saving mission
She is on a mission which seems impossible when viewed from the outside. Working among victims of internal conflicts and wars, Mawahib Al Shaibani is doing the unbelievable. On a mission for the past 13 years to provide trauma relief and support to refugees and victims of war in Syria and Iraq, Mawahib is currently spearheading a rescue operation for Yazidis trapped in Sinjar. She was recently in India along with 27 Iraqis from different sects/faiths --Sunnis, Shias, Christians, Yazidis- to imbibe techniques that would help in providing the displaced, a sense of peace and freedom form trauma.
“People who live in a country continuously ravaged by war, are deeply affected in their psyches. They need to be provided relief, and taught how to literally find peace through various exercises and activities. In Syria, thousands remain trapped in the mountains with no food or water. As many as 7000 Yazidi girls, aged between 9-35 years, were taken captive by the ISIS. We recently rescued and rehabilitated a 15-year-old girl victim of gang-rape along with many other women who are trapped, and are being sold by ISIS for as little as $10,” she shudders.
The rescued people have been rehabilitated in different regions and given training to build a life of their own. “Some of them live in refugee camps, while others were fortunate enough to return home. The task before us is daunting. But we overcome the hurdles with hope and compassion. Stress is the reason that keeps us from taking the right decisions. We need to first be in a calm state of mind, and at ease with ourselves in order to arrive at the right decision.”
Born into a family of traders in an orthodox Yemeni society, working with people in faraway regions goes beyond mere cultural bonds for Mawahib. “I have never ever felt a cultural shock. When I started working in Iraq, a lot of people were isolated without food, blanket or even clothes. It was worse in Kurdistan. There were 1.5 million people living in various camps in Kurdistan, with about half a million of them in Iraq. We started with the camps in Northern Iraq. We arranged for doctors and medicines. We distributed 13,000 tones of medicine and food in the camps with the help of the Iraqi army. I had with me the volunteers and trainers from the Art of living,” she elaborates.
Her family moved to UAE in 1975. After finishing high school, she moved to the United States, where she studied finance. She then moved to Geneva, became a broker, and started trading with the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). She later moved back to Abu Dhabi, where she got introduced to The Art of living. “Things started to move in 'fast forward mode' after the course,” she recalls.
After 15 years of banking, Mawahib left it all to help transform people’s lives and has been teaching The Art of living courses since nine years in the Gulf. “I do breathing exercises every day. When you are at peace with yourself, you don't need to fight aggressively. The transition from a hardcore professional to someone who serves the society was great. Every day has become a celebration for me. life is more beautiful and complete now. I feel better serving the society,” she smiles.
When asked how she copes with the psychological and physical trauma of spending time in the world’s most disruptive regions, she says that she does not actually go to the frontlines where the actual action lies, but works in the rehabilitation camps: “There are hundreds and hundreds of people living in the camps. The number is so big that we are unable to count. The people are really scarred on the inside. We talk to them and train them to make peace with themselves. In the last twelve months, we conducted around 500 workshops to relieve them of trauma. We have special programmes in place to help deal with the psychological issues they face.”
She is currently involved in a women-empowerment project that trains Iraqi women in computers and several other income-generation activities. Mawahib trains the women to be mentally strong, educating them to develop skills to guide them towards self-independence. The 50-year old wants to expand the scope of her activities and to extend help to refugees all over. She is now in the midst of chalking out a programme for both children and adults in Jordan and lebanon. Traversing different paths has made her more spiritual. “I am still a Muslim. Spirituality is the actual banana, whereas religion is merely its peel. What is more important is the banana -the inner content,” she concludes.