The Arab-European Conundrum
"I wish I could say, however, that general understanding of the Middle East, the Arabs, and Islam in the United States has improved somewhat, but alas, it really hasn't. For all kinds of reasons, the situation in Europe seems to considerably better." Edward Said, in his 2003 preface to the 25th Anniversay Edition of his groundbreaking book, Orientalism.
"Look Lesley," R's voice says with excitement, "It's Denmark!"
"See, this is Jutland, and this over here is Fyn!" H chimes in as he points to two puddles on the pavement. I have just completed a walk around the lake with my 7th graders. We sometimes go out the last thirty minutes or so to get some fresh air and move our bodies. The sun is shining and I can see the blue sky and white clouds reflecting off the puddles. "You're right!" I exclaim in agreement, "It is Denmark!" I am amazed that it is Denmark they both see in these puddles. They proceed to point out more specific geographic points on the puddle. Although both are born in Denmark, their families hail from Iraq. I have quite a few students from Iraq and they are as varied as the human spectrum. Some girls cover their heads with scarfs, some wear the latest Western gear. Many go back to Iraq regularly, and I am always curious to hear their thoughts on a country I am only familiar with through the besmirched view of the world news. I've noticed that R's voice have become rougher and louder this last year--a sign of the tug he now finds himself as a young foreign boy here in Denmark where role models are scarce and hard to come by and the only time he sees someone in the news who looks like him, it is usually in a negative light. He is a student of considerable academic talent and for as long as I live, I will never forget the look in his father's eyes as he asked me at the last parent-teacher consultation, "Is his English strong enough to get a job overseas?" Like so many immigrants here, he does not envision a future for his son here in Denmark. Most carry dreams of England, but most of all, the U.S. R wants to be some sort of medical specialist and when I asked why, he replied, "Because my mother says that specialists make a lot of money."
H's situation is a bit different. He only started at the school about a couple of years ago and so unlike the rest of his classmates, began learning English later. He has big, brown eyes that look like pools of caramel and chipmunk cheeks. What I love about H is his courage to make mistakes in his insatiable compulsion to learn: Whenever I need someone to read out loud, he always volunteers despite the fact that in the beginning, he struggled quite publicly. But with his dogged determination, his English is quickly coming up to par with the others. And this particular class's academic capabilities are quite impressive. H's father was tortured by Saddam Hussein's regime. H was born here in Denmark, but when his mother fled Iraq, she was pregnant and gave birth to him in a refugee camp. His father usually comes to parent-teacher consultations and although he speaks very little Danish communicates much with his warm eyes and disposition. HIs oldest son acts as translator.
It is time to go home and I can't help but laugh yet feel a pang of sadness: How ironic that it is Denmark they see in the shapes of these puddles. But does Denmark, really, ever see them? It is certainly the latter's loss, that's for sure.
Lately, the news stays the same. Right wing conservatives make a recent historic victory in Sweden, a country who treasured herself for tolerance. A sniper, in a Swedish city not too far from Copenhagen, makes immigrants his targets. In Germany the Chancellor has recently declared that "multi-culturalism" has failed, as if parallel societies could ever see each other's humanity when one is doused with power, the other without.
I started my week on a down note. My 8 o'clock class fell apart when one student greeted another student with, "Hey Greenlander!" I felt my heart break and I know I over-reacted when I clumsily attempted to reach some kind of clarity as to why they insisted on identifying each other based solely on their nationality. "But that is just what we do," B assured me, "They call me Kurdish goat all the time!" Now, I am not saying that this dynamic is wrong, but I tried to explain to them, using the "N" word as an example, why their insistence on calling each other stereotypical names might be confusing to others. For example, "Perker" is a considered a derogatory name for an immigrant, but many claim it by using it themselves. I am not claiming there is even a right or wrong here, I am just insisting on getting some clarity.
I have a student who recently sent me an email entitled "Because he is a Muslim." It is a slideshow of images that give the argument of the oppressed Musiim. With cute cartoon pictures and arguments that include statements like, "When someone drives a perfect car in an improper manner, no one blames the car, but when any Muslim makes a mistake or treats people in a bad manner, then people say 'Islam is the reason!" What is interesting about this email is that clearly, there are many Muslims here in Europe who feel themselves, like African Americans in the U.S., to be oppressed. So what's the big deal, you ask?
NO ONE IS SPEAKING INTELLIGENTLY ABOUT THIS ISSUE.
HUMAN LIVES ARE BEING WASTED.
EVERYONE IS AFFECTED.
ANY TIME ONE PERSON'S HUMAN RIGHTS ARE BEING VIOLATED, YOU BETTER BELIEVE YOURS IS BEING VIOLATED AS WELL.
Yesterday I wrote in my journal, "My heart is aching today. Although historical connections are obvious, people fail to speak them. Why do my students, mostly Arabic, not know of Said? What good is hard work, enlightenment shed in the worlds of East meets West, if its audience remains closed off from the facts of post-colonialism?
When my student tells me that he has been stopped and searched on numerous occasions by the police in his neighborhood, I think about my brother, a Black man in the United States. Certainly, there are no victims here...just a consciousness that is asleep because the greatness of people's souls have yet to awaken. But the time is not too far off when human beings the world over will open their eyes and see the power of what we have in common over our differences, be able to unite based on our great spiritual and human potential and not be confused. In this state of clarity religion will not be the issue, but saving our Universe will be the agenda. And the roosters, as they say, will come home to roost. No kidding.
I wonder what Said would think of Europe now?
Writing 3am in the Morning,
Blackgirl on Mars,
wishes peace in her soul
peace in your soul
I'm out.
& tired.
farvel,
the lab
"Look Lesley," R's voice says with excitement, "It's Denmark!"
"See, this is Jutland, and this over here is Fyn!" H chimes in as he points to two puddles on the pavement. I have just completed a walk around the lake with my 7th graders. We sometimes go out the last thirty minutes or so to get some fresh air and move our bodies. The sun is shining and I can see the blue sky and white clouds reflecting off the puddles. "You're right!" I exclaim in agreement, "It is Denmark!" I am amazed that it is Denmark they both see in these puddles. They proceed to point out more specific geographic points on the puddle. Although both are born in Denmark, their families hail from Iraq. I have quite a few students from Iraq and they are as varied as the human spectrum. Some girls cover their heads with scarfs, some wear the latest Western gear. Many go back to Iraq regularly, and I am always curious to hear their thoughts on a country I am only familiar with through the besmirched view of the world news. I've noticed that R's voice have become rougher and louder this last year--a sign of the tug he now finds himself as a young foreign boy here in Denmark where role models are scarce and hard to come by and the only time he sees someone in the news who looks like him, it is usually in a negative light. He is a student of considerable academic talent and for as long as I live, I will never forget the look in his father's eyes as he asked me at the last parent-teacher consultation, "Is his English strong enough to get a job overseas?" Like so many immigrants here, he does not envision a future for his son here in Denmark. Most carry dreams of England, but most of all, the U.S. R wants to be some sort of medical specialist and when I asked why, he replied, "Because my mother says that specialists make a lot of money."
H's situation is a bit different. He only started at the school about a couple of years ago and so unlike the rest of his classmates, began learning English later. He has big, brown eyes that look like pools of caramel and chipmunk cheeks. What I love about H is his courage to make mistakes in his insatiable compulsion to learn: Whenever I need someone to read out loud, he always volunteers despite the fact that in the beginning, he struggled quite publicly. But with his dogged determination, his English is quickly coming up to par with the others. And this particular class's academic capabilities are quite impressive. H's father was tortured by Saddam Hussein's regime. H was born here in Denmark, but when his mother fled Iraq, she was pregnant and gave birth to him in a refugee camp. His father usually comes to parent-teacher consultations and although he speaks very little Danish communicates much with his warm eyes and disposition. HIs oldest son acts as translator.
It is time to go home and I can't help but laugh yet feel a pang of sadness: How ironic that it is Denmark they see in the shapes of these puddles. But does Denmark, really, ever see them? It is certainly the latter's loss, that's for sure.
Lately, the news stays the same. Right wing conservatives make a recent historic victory in Sweden, a country who treasured herself for tolerance. A sniper, in a Swedish city not too far from Copenhagen, makes immigrants his targets. In Germany the Chancellor has recently declared that "multi-culturalism" has failed, as if parallel societies could ever see each other's humanity when one is doused with power, the other without.
I started my week on a down note. My 8 o'clock class fell apart when one student greeted another student with, "Hey Greenlander!" I felt my heart break and I know I over-reacted when I clumsily attempted to reach some kind of clarity as to why they insisted on identifying each other based solely on their nationality. "But that is just what we do," B assured me, "They call me Kurdish goat all the time!" Now, I am not saying that this dynamic is wrong, but I tried to explain to them, using the "N" word as an example, why their insistence on calling each other stereotypical names might be confusing to others. For example, "Perker" is a considered a derogatory name for an immigrant, but many claim it by using it themselves. I am not claiming there is even a right or wrong here, I am just insisting on getting some clarity.
I have a student who recently sent me an email entitled "Because he is a Muslim." It is a slideshow of images that give the argument of the oppressed Musiim. With cute cartoon pictures and arguments that include statements like, "When someone drives a perfect car in an improper manner, no one blames the car, but when any Muslim makes a mistake or treats people in a bad manner, then people say 'Islam is the reason!" What is interesting about this email is that clearly, there are many Muslims here in Europe who feel themselves, like African Americans in the U.S., to be oppressed. So what's the big deal, you ask?
NO ONE IS SPEAKING INTELLIGENTLY ABOUT THIS ISSUE.
HUMAN LIVES ARE BEING WASTED.
EVERYONE IS AFFECTED.
ANY TIME ONE PERSON'S HUMAN RIGHTS ARE BEING VIOLATED, YOU BETTER BELIEVE YOURS IS BEING VIOLATED AS WELL.
Yesterday I wrote in my journal, "My heart is aching today. Although historical connections are obvious, people fail to speak them. Why do my students, mostly Arabic, not know of Said? What good is hard work, enlightenment shed in the worlds of East meets West, if its audience remains closed off from the facts of post-colonialism?
When my student tells me that he has been stopped and searched on numerous occasions by the police in his neighborhood, I think about my brother, a Black man in the United States. Certainly, there are no victims here...just a consciousness that is asleep because the greatness of people's souls have yet to awaken. But the time is not too far off when human beings the world over will open their eyes and see the power of what we have in common over our differences, be able to unite based on our great spiritual and human potential and not be confused. In this state of clarity religion will not be the issue, but saving our Universe will be the agenda. And the roosters, as they say, will come home to roost. No kidding.
I wonder what Said would think of Europe now?
Writing 3am in the Morning,
Blackgirl on Mars,
wishes peace in her soul
peace in your soul
I'm out.
& tired.
farvel,
the lab
Comments
I have always had issue with the idea of "tolerance". We need to do away with that concept! It is too negative a word! Bolivar's wetnurse, an African woman, taught him the spirit of comprehension, that of understanding and respecting each other. I personally prefer the principle of comprehension over tolerance any day. Thanks for reading and sharing!
The only hope for Denmark is if the elementary educational system is totally re-hauled. The main point of vuggestue and børnehaver is to integrate children into a Danish way of thinking and living. This main point needs to change to another altogether different main point.
Until these early years programs in DK (vuggestue, børnehave and school years 0-9) EMBRACE the fact that we are different and deserve to be (many Danes find it difficult to be 'Danish' too, these are the ones that end up in mental hospitals I bet)Denmark will never be a place for anyone other than the so called 'Danish' to prosper, blossom and smile.
I am SO tired of all the bullshit in Denmark. Such a small country for so much hype and pompous pride. The way the Danish system treats the 'lower immigrants' (so called refugees) compared to the the 'higher immigrants' (so called 'expats in denmark') is so markedly different as to be obscene.
The hype currently being generated to attract 'highly skilled foreigners' to Denmark is nauseating. Denmark is sitting on one bunch of foreigners at the same time as brown nosing another bunch. Ugh. Now what is THAT all about?
yes the discussion isn't happening. It should.
how should the discussion and understanding begin?
right where you find it - in children who have parents who have siblings and aunts and uncles who have friends and neighbors and co-workers who when faced with the pureness of a child's plea can only agree or try to grapple with their disagreement.
how i see it. how i think it. how i act it.