middlepeace.com

In our refugee camp

I met this woman
everyday disturbed
clearly sad

She had no name
she had lost her soul

A soul without peace
her peace out of see
she walked and walked
inside the borders of the green land
to turn days into the nights
and nights into the days

The motionless life

The anxious times

She walked and walked
to process her past
to cure the doubt

To settle with the mistrust

She walked and walked
to ease the nostalgic pain
to capture the disruption

She was a woman

Integrity in doubt

Inadequate and less than

She walked and walked
never said “hi” back
to my “hi”
maybe once
maybe twice
only with her lifeless eyes
only with her lips
that barley moved
she was a woman
forced to leave

Inadequate and less than

She was a woman
pushed to the edges of no one

The cross line of confusion

The internalized sense of oppression

She walked and walked

Inside the borders of the green land
she walked and walked
one foot in front of the other

And she told soundless stories
in the miles of remorse
I met this woman
felt her despair
never said “hi” back
maybe once
maybe twice
only with her far reaching eyes
yet she walked and walked
to turn days into the nights
and nights into the days

in the observer eyes
she was hurt
she was a woman
she walked and walked

She lived in our refugee camp

And I never saw her again.

Stockholm 1996
Poran Poregbal

This poem is about a woman who in a refugee camp the mid summer of 1987.

In our Iranian community we have no discussion about bullying.  Translation of this word in our language does not show the seriousness of this topic.  Bullying is mostly misunderstood as “jokes” or as “just being funny” type of action.  In our culture it is easy to laugh at or ignore many hard topics such as bullying.  Victims of bullying could be anyone who is considered to be less than others.   Our exaggerated respect for social status does allow bullying becoming a top to down way of ordering orders.  Our jokes definitely reflect our way of thinking, acting, and feeling. Just to remind us of how bullying look like in our culture, take a moment to think of how we call one another based on the person’s personal attributes. We choose words and they have a meaning. This is a conscious way of bullying, even if we think it is a funny way of calling another person a name.

There are people who will argue with this write and say I am taking things too seriously. However we have to think of how we are victimizing others on a daily basis just by some minimal actions that are called: bullying.  It is time to learn what is right and what is wrong.

May 21, 2009

www.middlepeace.com

Proudly i would like to announce that we in the Rooyesh Cultural Society had an evening overwhelmed by joy and friendship.

On May 9,2009 we had the first official celebration for our non profit society that has been consistent on it’s main goal since it’s start: Practicing democracy and building community.
This grass root society is possible because four years ago, a couple of Iranian families put their minds together and planned a group where people could meet one another and share their stories of life in migration.  Now Rooyesh Cultural Society is really what it stands for: Growth.
Today four years later, Society’s  first official celebration became an evening with poetry, dance, music, songs. This evening was a chance for the  board members of the Rooyesh Cultural Society  to appreciate our community at large.  In addition there was a chance to appreciate every single individual who had contributed to the growth of this new era for hope.

To our surprise about 400 people from our Iranian community showed up.  We had announced and advertised our celebration in all Persian newspapers, however we could not in our wildest imagination think of such a successful turnout.  This evening was possible by hours of volunteer work, donations and sponsorship of some local businesses from our Iranian community; those who had believed our goal and vision.

There is no way to articulate the sense of gratitude for all the support that we in the Rooyesh Cultural Society have received.  This event created a source of encouragement, community, and sponsorship of ideas that are deeply rooted in our Persian culture, yet we have to extract them.
This event was a reason to believe that  hope is really around the corner, we have to see it, feel it, and grab it.

Poran Poregbal
May 11, 2009
www.middlepeace.com