“When people love humanity more than they hate the ‘other’ group, then there will be peace.” –Thaer Elrefai

History, autobiography, politics, humanism and pleading for refugees combine in this fascinating collection of stories about growing up as a Palestinian and rising from poverty and without a country to an international career as a medical doctor. The author makes the reasonable but provocative argument that Jesus was a Palestinian. Another story, “Two rights make a wrong” tells a tale of the petty humiliations of trying to visit where he was born, only to be blocked by the gate-keeping that refugees so often face. “do not sell me, Dad” tells the story of a Palestinian who desperately tried to save the life of his father when medical care was financially out of reach. All those interested in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict should read this enthralling book by an author who has lived it, yet is optimistic that a tolerant, diverse and inclusive solution can be achieved.

About the author:

Dr. Thaer Elrefai was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon. That mid day he was born into darkness, in a house with no address, no street name, with galvanized metal roofing, with wooden pillars supporting it. In that crowded unfortunate place, his family was more fortunate, as others had houses made from clay and dirt. It is not the structure of the house, nor the date, but rather the chosen place, which gave him a lost identity. In the camps there were the not poor, the poor, and the very poor. We were not poor, as my father through resilience and suffering managed to be a teacher for the United Nations relief agency for Palestinian refugees. Through hard work he got on the honour list in high school and thus got one of the last Soviet Union scholarships. His medical schooling traversed the turbulent times of “perestroika” the dissolution of the Soviet Union and economic and political restructuring. Returning to Lebanon, he was denied medical jobs by discriminatory rules, but luckily got a visa to the United States, then moved to Canada. He delivered pizza and the Toronto Star, while studying to get Canadian accreditation. He is now a practicing physician in Ottawa with a deep commitment to peace and humanity. For more information, visit the website www.diversity2unity.com