1- What have you learned intellectually about the topics we’ve covered so far? Please refer to at least four readings, videos, or activities that helped you learn this and explain why. What questions do you still have about these topics, and how might you use your Soliya experience to enrich your knowledge?

We have come across numerous readings and played so many games since the start of this semester, but there are some that really stuck with me. The first I would like to mention is the TED Talk The Danger of a Single Story. Her focus was on how, as humans, we can sometimes fall into the trap of reducing people’s identities into a single aspect that we think we know about them. For example, if we know someone is poor, we might build a whole life in our heads of what we think poor people live like, and we fit them into that image.

I watched the video a few times, and it got me wondering. We are able to see and know people at the same depth we know ourselves. I know she was talking about how we often define other people using a single story, but I thought to myself: were there times that I defined my own identity into a single story? When I fail at doing something and immediately doubt myself and my capabilities, I am reducing myself to a single story.

She also only spoke about the dangers, but what if it is necessary to define people in certain circumstances using a single story? To look at one perspective? Wouldn’t that make some instances and actions in specific situations more comprehensible?

Trevor Noah similarly talks about how people can come from different identities and belong to both in his video responding to the French ambassador. I linked it to The Danger of a Single Story in the way he makes it a point that the players are African just as they are French. Defining them by one country reduces their identity to a single story. They can be both.

No one really belongs to one place, one time, or one culture only. We are all collections of places, people, identities, and histories that influenced who we are. In acknowledging all our identities and all our stories, we are not just seeing ourselves in our truest essence, but we are also appreciating all the different parts that have made us.

Showing affiliation to one side only—for example, the French ambassador showing pride in the players being French and getting offended that they could possibly be associated with any other race, especially Africans—is an action or feeling that comes from a much deeper issue of racism. But Trevor does not address that directly. He does not start by saying they are racist. He spoke about how they can be, and are in fact, both French and African.

He addressed the racist action, and not the racist person or even racist culture. This brings me to another video we watched in class called How to Tell Someone They Sound Racist. The video emphasizes exactly what Trevor did: attack the action, not the person. Do not say, “you are racist,” but tell them why their action is racist. Because at the end of the day, it is not only about being right, it is also about how you can make the other side understand that they are wrong. Attacking their identity might reduce them to one story, and even if it is true, they will not hear you. And what is a point if it is not heard?

Last, but certainly not least, Lina Mounzer’s article War in Translation. It was just far too rich, far too deep to be captured in a reflection assignment. Lina combined all the stories she had to translate—she unraveled each story, disassembled its parts, and wore it like it was her own. Then she wrote it to show us what these women have gone through.

She never directly talks about empathy, but her job defines it to its core. Not only did she put herself in people’s shoes, she translated their stories for everyone who could not see or hear them. Her empathy transcends her capacity to feel what others are going through; it stretches beyond languages and reaches different hearts.

I hope that through Soliya, I am able to truly see different individuals coming from different parts of the world as humans with more than one story. I hope that I am able to understand their different viewpoints and be able to pinpoint where their perspectives come from. I want to be able to communicate myself too, so that I am not only taking, but also giving.

Links to the sources used (in order of mention) : 

2- What have you learned about yourself and the way you view the world so far?

When it comes to myself, I think the thing I learned the most is how much I actually don’t know about the world. Even about myself, there is still so much left to explore.

I think I was always privileged enough to be part of a wider community that represents my own identity—for example, I am Muslim in a Muslim country. However, when I moved to Egypt, part of that security changed, and I have been learning to adapt to being different ever since.

I think talking with and interacting with people who are different can help me get out of that bubble of only identifying as just Sudanese, or just labeling people as Egyptian, Sudanese, etc., and instead just seeing people as people. I think Soliya might be the perfect environment for that.

3- What have you learned in terms of interactions with people who are different from you?

When it comes to interactions with others, I think I have become more aware of how I must always have more empathy and compassion when trying to understand people.

Naturally, people get caught up in viewing others from their own perspectives, which is still important, but it is also so important to truly try to feel and understand what someone else feels while going through their own experience. I cannot just be open-minded, I have to have an open heart as well.

I mentioned this earlier in this reflection, but I truly do believe that we are able to see others at the same depth we see and understand ourselves. I really noticed that in a lot of the activities we were asked to do, it always led me to ask questions about myself and my own identity.

Even when people speak about compassion and empathy, they ask you: what would you do if you were in their place? There is always an element of the self, and so it is so important to know yourself well enough so that you may understand and interact with others.

I think it goes without saying that it is really important to recognize that sometimes you might just disagree with different people, and that is okay. But sometimes I ask: when is it not okay?

I also have some questions about this whole idea of being a “global citizen”—what does it truly mean, and where do I stand in it? How much can I contribute by just being myself, and how much can I take and absorb by interacting with others?

Throughout my Soliya experience, I am hoping that I am able to open my heart and mind so that I can absorb and understand different people and different worlds. Soliya seems to be a great experience, and as enriching as it is, I think it only scratches the surface of what it truly means to be a global citizen.

4- What do you expect would happen if the issue of Palestine or the current war with Iran and the Middle East came up in Soliya?

I am not sure what to expect, but I am hoping that there are not any opposing viewpoints. In the case that there are, I think it is really important to address the reality of the issue.

I guess something I might really struggle with is trying not to define the person based on their views. But to be honest, some views really say a lot about a person. Still, it is not really my job to analyze them; it is my responsibility to educate them.

With that responsibility comes the added responsibility to educate myself more on the topic and to always stay up to date.

Directing such a discussion sounds a bit intimidating to me, just because I am afraid I might not be able to represent the Palestinian viewpoint the way it should be represented. But I will do all that I can to speak the utmost truth.

When it comes to support, the first thing would be the knowledge I need to discuss it. Secondly, I would appreciate it if I am not the only one speaking up. It might be a sensitive topic for some, and the moderators might have to intervene. I would appreciate it if their goal is to speak the truth and not just maintain everyone’s comfort.