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Every young refugee has a story worth telling
One of the purposes of the Refugee Youth Voices Project is to shine light on the experiences, trials, and joys of refugee youth (ages 15-24) across the world, a group that is often left voiceless and badgered by stigma, myths, and misconceptions. At the core of the student-led project that I created, is a central mission to portray refugee youth as they really are: youth who have fled unimaginable conflicts and left everything behind in their homelands, but also youth who want to spend quality time with their friends and chase after their dreams. This is a personal story written by a Syrian...
Dance It Out
Dance is one of the most powerful forms of expression, also serving as a mode of stress alleviation for many, including myself. I started dance, in the form of Mohiniyattam, at the age of 9, under the guidance of my Guru, in Mumbai, India. Mohiniyattam, also spelled Mohiniattam, is one of the eight classical dances of India and it originates from Kerala. It gets its name from the word Mohini – a mythical enchantress avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, and Attam which means Dance. Mohiniyattam's roots, like all classical Indian dances, are in the Natya Shastra, the ancient Hindu Sanskrit text on...
Quarantine and Kitchen Table
Past sunrise continental breakfast greets marmite and cheese with begging dog each morning by this table Procrastination, chocolate bar I should have done more, I know I am able noon and guilt arrive with table cloth cheese and Marmite tea in glass domestic conversation me, trying to act stable The sun is tired and goes to rest I go to deck the table knife and fork, vork en mes silver pan, soup ladle the day is done, just like that wake tomorrow, repeat this staple
It's time to take action!
George Floyd's murder was the result of years of oppression against black people in the United States. Unjustly murdered and mistreated by the police, he has made us see the harsh reality that many ignored, the truth of the system in which we live. A system that instead of being made to help, is made to oppress others. We cannot continue to ignore the fact that they kill people for no reason, just because of the color of their skin. Black people are our brothers and sisters, we have to raise our voices and demand dignified treatment for them, not only in the US but in the world. Racism has...
Youth Day!!
Youth Day in South Africa commemorates the Soweto Uprising, which took place on 16 June 1976, where thousands of students were ambushed by the apartheid regime. On Youth Day, South Africans pay tribute to the lives of these students and recognize the role of the youth in the liberation of South Africa from the apartheid regime. Today, in SA all their sacrifices were worthwhile. As a youth today we get to choose if we want to learn Afrikaans or not. We have 11 official languages in SA where school subjects are taught in these languages.
Sexism...what?
Who you are
What scares me the most is ourselves— how we treat one another, how we perceive one another, and how we go about this world living as if we are truly different from one another. Many years ago, I found a quote on the cover of a prayer book— the entire world is a narrow bridge. Throughout my life, I have toiled to find meaning in these words, but to no avail. These simple seven words held such complexity that their significance remained elusive, compelling me into a state of frustration. It was only months ago that I discovered there is a second half to that quote— the essential thing is not to...
Child marriage cuts dreams short – the role of education as a game changer
With education comes empowerment. Education changes minds and lives. "My mum often told me to study or else, I’d end up like her. I never really took these things seriously but now as I read about child marriages, I realise what she meant". Child marriage doesn’t just put an end to a girl’s hopes and dreams, it also hampers the efforts taken to end poverty and achieve economic growth and equality. Girls are powerful agents of the socio-economic change. Early marriage creates barriers and transforms the child’s life from playing and studying to dealing with unwanted social responsibilities. The...
bookmark
I have not read a single Harry Potter book in my life. Tried a few times, but turns out - it just isn't my thing. Last Christmas, my aunt bought me the first Harry Potter book. Today, I sat on the sofa and flipped through the book. I realised that I didn't have a bookmark. Whenever I sit to read a book, I always always have a bookmark. Folding the top right corner of the page just is something I don't believe in ! It's like destroying the aesthetic of a book page by page. Well, I ended up drawing a colorful mandala on a plain bookmark. Situations like these - they tell you what is and is not...
Pandora
She hastened to close the “box” but alas the whole content had already escaped but for one thing, which lay at the bottom of the jar.....Hope! While the box served as a prison for the evils that escaped, it thereafter serves as a dwelling for Hope. The moral of Pandora's Box is that unchecked curiosity and disobedience can be dangerous, but hope remains. The image is of a painting called HOPE by George Frederick Watts illustrates a lone blindfolded female sitting on the world, playing a lyre that has only a single string remaining. There is always HOPE in the end dear friends! Be Positive! Be...
The earth will take a deep breath again
Isolation knocked at our doorsteps, silently letting the chaos take away our loved ones, in a cold whisper that we never heard Time seemed to reach a full stop, after an eternity of chasing after us We stalked those moments that had passed by our helpless eyes and my hungry mind fed on the fear- That now creeps in The fear that this remoteness may envelope me, in a dark blanket And dim our bright eyes of the earth’s beauty In the ethereal paintings made by the sky, and the moonlight illuminating the streets And not to forget, the desolate and ugly that hides in corners within a planet that...
Menstrual Rights: the WASH dream under COVID-19
“Clean hands with soap and water, cover nose and mouth with tissue or flexed elbow when coughing and sneezing, practice social distancing…” are amongst the safety measures issued by the World Health Organisation encouraging the public to minimise exposure to the risk of contracting the coronavirus (COVID-19). One cannot resist the air of melancholy currently ravaging the world much like the pandemic; exacerbating the existing plight of lack of access to menstrual health and hygiene management (MHM) for all. To a greater extent, it can be assimilated that there exists a wider correlation...
Altruistic Service
I am a member of the "Tibi Rident Foundation" where we seek to train young people in the city of Pereira in an environment of altruistic service, carrying out training in five areas which are the fundamental pillars, which are "Family, Social, Spiritual, Personal and Educational". For society in recent years, indifference towards social or economic classes has increased exponentially, where the neglect of vulnerable communities has been the main reason for the lack of support for them, from the departmental to the national government. For this reason, young people from the city of Pereira...
It's Not Over
In the midst of this pandemic, there have been a few terms passed around the media. The terms "Rebuild" and "Reimagine" are the ideals of what we want to do while shaping the future we want to live once we get through these unprecedented times. In a world so afraid of change, we are being told that it will happen one way or another. The idea that we will not go back to the way things use to be, but to a new normal being sculpted along this journey has divided people based on their feelings and fears. We are taking notes in fields like education, government, and the sciences and learning in...
The Endangered Black Man
As a child, I idolised the American lifestyle. I marvelled at the affordable and stylish clothing, the variety of foods and amazing places to go...I was in love. At times, I did not want to return to Barbados just yet and I couldn't wait to get back on the plane. I even planned one day to live there and experience the American dream. But one day, I had a nightmare about the American dream and I jumped up. I fell off the bed, opened my eyes and my vision has never been clearer. My grandmother and mother always cautioned my tall black uncle about wearing his hoodie in public, about being too...
The Mask
Wearing a mask has become a sign of utmost empathy one can show to another We do not wear a mask to protect ourselves, but rather to protect others It is an implicit statement of love, not fear I wear my mask to prevent the spread of the virus that can make you sick Not because I think everyone around me has the virus and wants to infect me Not because I am afraid of the virus I wear my mask to comfort you, not to make you feel apprehensive I wear my mask as a solider in this war against a microscopic threat that spares nobody It is armor Six feet apart and a piece of fabric to cover our face...
A Meal Worth Sharing, But Prohibited | Ramadan
#Ramadan-Stories On Iftar + Ramadan | Nour At the beginning of Ramadan, Iftar starts at 6:43 PM and fasting starts nine hours later at 3:34 AM. Before we get ready to eat Iftar, some of us go to the market to prepare for the cooking. We cook the Iftar meal during the day to enjoy it in the evening once we have completed our fasting. This year celebrating Iftar is very different. These days, Iftar can be difficult because of COVID-19. We have to be safe to ensure that we do not spread the virus to our families because it is an extremely dangerous disease. Typically during Ramadan, you gather...