Interview: Nina Abdul Razzak
What is your standpoint regarding the idea of cultural diversity and how do you see its role in the modern globalized world. Is this idea sustainable?
Cultural diversity in our modern world is no longer a choice; whether we like it or not, we are surrounded by culturally diverse factors and influences of all sorts and from different sources. Some of these sources we are conscious of and others not very much so. Of course, globalization as well as easy access to information through the Internet, satellite TV, social media etc. have played a pivotal role in the spread of cultural diversity, which is in most part a very healthy thing. For, there is so much to learn from other cultures and so much to enjoy. One picks up new perspectives on things and develops greater acceptance of other human beings when getting in touch with them, learning about them, and seeing how similar rather than different they are to us. In brief, life gets enhanced through cultural diversity and as long as one has a good ability to differentiate right from wrong and good from bad, then what one ends up acquiring from diverse cultures cannot but be beneficial and enriching.
We could say that the element of cultural diversity is more than present in your life. You were born in Lebanon, spent childhood in KSA, studied in America, now you work and live in Bahrain, how these countries affected you and what kind of experience do you have living in these countries?
That is very much true; I really am an amalgamation of all of those things. And on different occasions when I think of my identity, I always end up focusing on the good things that I see myself as having taken from each of these countries or cultures. Of course, in all of them I have good memories- memories of friendships, love, happy times and events, accomplishments and achievements. But if I were to specify, I would say that from Lebanon, I learnt to love beauty and enjoy life; from Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, I learnt the importance of being grateful for any little thing God has granted me; and from the States, I learnt the value of practicality and the importance of encouraging myself and others around me to set life goals and follow dreams.
You are of Palestinian roots, how has this Palestinian heritage shaped you as a person, professor, writer?
As a Palestinian in orign, heart, and soul, that is where I see my true self lying and it is where I feel the most secure. Note that, this is coming from someone who has never seen or been to Palestine yet. Despite this, I am certain Palestine lives inside of me; it is like a place which I feel I know every corner of without even having been there. This feeling is a strange one and is very difficult to accurately describe but I know that it is not a feeling that I alone have. It is the feeling of every Palestinian refugee and we sense it whenever we are together in a social occasion or gathering of some sort. There is always a shared sense of comfort as well as a common force, like a special type of gravity, that pulls all of us towards Palestine and anything Palestinian rather than pulling us downwards. We usually refer to this force as ’longingness to home’, a home that we unfairly were never allowed to live in. This longingness has a lot to do with who I am today; as it has shaped a lot of the qualities that I possess like, for example: pride, mainly proud to be Palestinian; perseverence, by not ever giving up on the Palestinian right of return; generosity, by willing to serve anyone in need or who has been subjected to unfair treatment like we Palestinians have been; courage, in facing any form of inequity or oppression; dignity, by continuously seeking to regain a dignified life free of occupation or displacement; and last but not least, loyalty, by holding on to anything and everything that carries the scent of Palestine. These qualities you find not only in my character as an individual but also they have come to materialize over the years in every aspect and role in my life, whether personal or professional.
Tell us something about your teaching and writing career.
Well, I now have 25 years of experience teaching at all school levels as well as in higher education. I have held several important posts in colleges and universities in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, such as Vice Dean of Academic Affairs, Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology and Leadership, as well as Assistant Professor of Childhood Education. Throughout my long career in education, I have managed to train thousands of teachers and hundreds of school principals on a variety of profession-related topics and skills.
As a researcher, I have written and published a number of scientific articles in a variety of areas like: best practices in education, technology access and integration in schools, teachers’ professional development, the effects of child maltreatment, and gender-related issues. I have also been a reviewer on a number of international scientific journals and am the founder and managing editor of my own scientific and international peer-reviewed journal, the Journal of Teaching and Teacher Education, which is sponsored by the University of Bahrain.
As for writing, it is one of my main hobbies. I am currently an author of three published works: two are literary books and the third is my latest publication ‘My Rights Are Divine: A Closer Look At Children’s Rights in the Muslim Arab World’, which is more research-based. The literary works are a collection of poems and a memoir. The memoir entitled ‘A Year To Forget: A Year Spent in Agony’, focuses on a very painful year of my life while suffering with loss, illness, and a number of other unfortunate events. While, my collection of poems focuses on my status and outlook as a second-generation Palestinian refugee. I composed and collected these poems over a number of years and finally published them in a book, called ‘Displaced Treasures: A Collection of Poems of Exile’. This work has been well-received by many readers in the Arabian Gulf region, especially by those who could relate to the Palestinian experiences of displacement, exile, and occupation. And luckily for me, some of these poems have actually been translated into Serbian.
To me, writing is a peaceful outlet through which I can reflect on, and clearly express, my true self and feelings. It is also a tool that I utilize as a form of active compassion towards matters and issues that I am strongly passionate about, like for example, child and human suffering, my original homeland Palestine, and my own personal experiences. I hope to continue writing till my last breath, for I strongly believe that as long as one is able to think and feel, one is able to create and make a difference.
What do you find as the most precious in Palestinian culture, who is the greatest Palestinian (who you admire most) and what part of Palestinian heritage could you select as the most important one, the one that marks the Palestinian identity the most?
There are many precious things in the Palestinian culture. For example, the qualities that I referred to before such as pride, perseverence, generosity, courage, dignity, and loyalty are all important and stand out. These are coupled with a clearly noticeable and well-known desire for investment in education and this is something not new. For almost a 100 years now, it has been well-established in the Arab World that the Palestinian people are among the most highly educated in the region. In addition, Palestinians have many things to cherish, namely the fact that our land is the holy land and combines the three major historical religions of the world, where coexistence was never ever an issue between the people of these three faiths. Even now, coexistence is not a problem in Palestine; what is a problem is the injustice and the oppression brought upon by occupation, siege, blockage, violations of rights and freedoms...
Palestinian heritage also has in its folds beautiful poetry, music, (folkdancing), embroidery, as well as a delicious cuisine. Particularly famous is the Palestinian dessert kunafa as well as the extra virgin olive oil and the different dishes cooked with it, like musakhan and maklouba.
It is really difficult to choose what part of Palestinian heritage is the most important, since they all complement each other to create the Palestinian identity- whether they happen to be a beautifully embroidered dress or the legendry Palestinian headband) or a traditional song or story, or a flavorsome meal, etc. However, I personally am a lover of music and so I would say that in traditional songs lie many aspects that reveal the identity of a place or time. For, in a song, you find in many cases and, in addition to specific melodies and tunes which define a particular heritage or people, poetry and stories that provide you with a better feel for what it means to be a part of that place or culture.
When it comes to choosing the Palestinian I admire the most, this too is difficult; since, there are a lot of prominent figures to look up to. As a woman and an educator, I would choose Dr. Hanan Ashrawi. The poet in me though would opt for the famous Mahmoud Darwish or Tamim Al-Barghouthi. The fighter inside me pulls me towards the resisting prisoner Marwan Al-Barghouthi; and the everlasting flame in my heart for Palestine guides me towards the carrier of the torch, who managed to spread the Palestinian cause worldwide during his lifetime, the late President Yasser Arafat.
What are the messages of your poems published in the book ’’Displaced Treasures’’
My poems in ‘Displaced Treasures: A Collection of Poems of Exile’ are divided into three main categories. The first category aims at exposing the types of feelings and thoughts that occupy a refugee throughout their life. Such feelings are the yearning for home; helplessness for not being able to change things for one’s people and experiencing what seems to be more of a vicious cycle; and desire to be able to go back in time to before the displacement, in order to cause some kind of turn of events.
As for the second category of poems, they talk more about the story of the Palestinians on the inside, meaning in the Occupied Territories. These poems describe the suffering experienced as a result of measures taken by the occupier that violate Palestinians’ rights, such as the aparthied wall, demolition of houses, imprisonment, unfair trials, and the wounding and murdering of innocent children like Mohammad Al-Durra and the American activitst Rachel Corrie.
The third category, on the other hand, is basically a Palestinian potpourri and includes poems about things that I personally respect and cherish, such as the beauty of Palestine; the flag and what it symbolizes; the Palestinian mother and her sacrifices; my dear late grandmother and her profession as a midwife; and my wishes for my homeland. This category ends the book with a prayer to God to free Palestine and its people and to bring peace and serenity upon the land of peace, with a message asking the Palestinian people to hold on, for no misfortune lasts forever.
What do you hope for in the future, regarding your people, the entire Arab world, regarding your personal goals, as a professor and writer.
My hopes and aspirations for the Palestinian people and the entire Arab World are many. Among them is my hope that stability, peace, and coexistence prevail again like they once were before.
As for my personal goals, I wish for a better world for my children and theirs and hope to take part- as a childrens’ rights activist- in the empowerment of childen in the Arab World region. I hope to do this through disseminating whatever knowledge and skills I have, for the purpose of educating the young and old alike about the means of bringing forth a safe and healthy society in which children enjoy a dignified life and develop their full potential, through their awareness, exercise, and realization of their divine rights.
Interviewer: Ana Stjelja
*Nina Abdul Razzak is a Palestinian (Lebanese-born) intellectual, university professor and writer currently working as the Academic Consultant at the Directorate of Higher Education /Education & Training Quality Authority(BQA) in Bahrain.
