Fadia Otte – Founder and President of Safe World Peace

The idea of Safe World Peace came to me in a flash—or rather, I should say, in an explosion. On July 6, 2005, while I was in Beirut, the news of the London bombings took me back years, to the Lebanon I had fled, where war brought suffering to all religious communities.

As a little girl, I couldn’t understand why, from one day to the next, I could no longer have Muslim or Jewish friends. Today, I let that child within me speak—the one who longs for people, in all their differences, to seek understanding and live in peace. And I refuse to see this as utopian.

Because the attacks and inhumane acts happening all over the world today are like the metastases of the cancer that first emerged in Beirut more than 40 years ago. And the only way to heal it is through love and compassion.

After leaving Lebanon, I lived in Paris, New York, London, Jakarta, and Berlin, and I became a jewelry designer, founding Fadia Creations, a high jewelry brand specializing in pearl creations. On July 6, 2005, I decided to dedicate my life to bringing together the symbols of the four major religions in a single piece of jewelry. Today, this is both a bold and glamorous way to take a stand for peace. More importantly, it is a gesture of solidarity with those who suffer from oppression and isolation—the kind of isolation that prevents people from opening up to other cultures and traditions.

In fact, all profits from these sales are used to fund projects that support children and women in areas such as education, healthcare, and sports. My hope is to move beyond discussions of religion and instead embrace the beauty of our cultural and traditional differences.

My motto: He who opens a school closes a prison.

I have sworn to help others until my last breath—but to do so with style. Long live diversity, tolerance, and respect for one another.