A bond born from the foundations of an indelible tragedy inextricably unites Bassam Aramin and Rami Elhanan. The first is Palestinian, the second is Israeli and their existence has been overturned by violent deaths linked to the conflict in the Middle East. Fourteen-year-old Smadar, Rami’s daughter, lost her life in a bomb attack in the heart of Jerusalem, while Abir, Bassam’s 10-year-old daughter, was fatally shot outside her school by a soldier.
Instead of giving in to the spiral of revenge, the two fathers met thanks to the Parents Circle association, forming a deep friendship and transforming their private mourning into a universal symbol of dialogue. This extraordinary story is at the center of literary works such as Apeirogon by Colum McCann and My father, your father by Carola Benedetto and Luciana Ciliento and now heads straight towards the Nobel Peace Prize, together.
The first Sardinian stages of the Italian tour
The awareness-raising process will officially start in Sardinia with the Winds of Peace project, which will pave the way for the couple’s official candidacy for the Nobel Peace Prize. On 13 October 2026 at 10.30am, the inaugural event will be held in Villacidro in the gym of the Loru-Dessì Comprehensive Institute, involving the students together with the children of the Piga High School and the Marconi-Lussu Institute of San Gavino. The following day, 14 October at 10:00, the protagonists will be welcomed in Cagliari in Room B of the Department of Political and Social Sciences of the University, with an audience open to university students and high schools from Quartu Sant’Elena and Selargius, also guaranteeing translation into sign language.
The promoters of the initiative and the objectives
After the inaugural stops on the island, the journey will continue touching regions such as Piedmont and Tuscany. The project is promoted by a network of territorial and cultural bodies including the Giuseppe Dessì Foundation, the Genti Arrubia association, the Municipality of Quartu, the University of Cagliari, the Faustino Onnis Foundation and the Il Crogiuolo association, with the support of the Sardinia Foundation, the Crt Foundation, the Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation, the Anpi and the Human Rights Committee of the Piedmont Region. The initiative does not aim to resolve the geopolitical complexity of the conflict, but intends to concretely demonstrate that the individual choice to listen to others can break the chain of hatred.
