In the wake of the progressive and escalating negative cultural stereotyping that has given birth in recent times between the United States and Saudi Arabia, it is refreshing to note that there have been efforts on the part of some individuals and organizations to stem this growth of suspicion and intolerance which is primarily fueled by ignorance.
Individuals here have sponsored delegations of American students and American mothers to visit the country and take a first hand look at what we’re all about. Organizations such as ARAMCO Services or the Chamber of Commerce have also led from the front by sponsoring delegates from different educational institutions across America. And the feedback is always the same. Saudi Arabia is not what they had expected.
There are also such organizations in the United States that are active in bridging this gap of misunderstanding. One such worthy group is Others Are Us, a nonprofit organization headquartered in New York City that “works to achieve a better life for all the peoples of the world and especially our children by using the arts to bring individuals from different countries, cultures, backgrounds and beliefs together in community to establish mutual understanding, tolerance, cooperation and respect.”
Its director, Annette Swierzbinski, a lady I have come to know of recently, has been tirelessly promoting the concept of increasing human contact between people in conflict and generating a better understanding between them. No governments, politics, or agendas are involved here, just ordinary people to people.
One of the vehicles Others Are Us has utilized is the project “Imagining You and Your World,” which seeks to give voice to all children so that they can develop both an awareness and understanding of their similarities and also a climate of respect for their differences. It provides the means for children to come together to discover each other’s world to help decrease the fear of the unknown and the accompanying prejudice.
This project involved the exchange of art from children from 18 American schools and community groups in seven countries that participated in the 2003-2004 Imagining You and Your World project. Children from different communities and countries met each other through supervised forums on the Internet, talked about who they are and what their lives are like and created artwork imagining the others’ world and life based upon their impressions.
Art has proven a joyful and highly effective means for children who speak different languages and have a range of literacy levels to communicate easily with one another. The drawings that were presented in this exhibition were “read” by children in New York City public schools in three boroughs, Florida, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Yemen, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Each visual image has demonstrated once again that a picture is indeed worth a thousand words as children examined them carefully for information about their peers in other lands. “These young people have shared their hopes, dreams and fears with each other and have discovered that they have more in common than the issues that drive them apart.”
By broadening horizons and opening doors to cultural experiences, Annette’s efforts actually promote children as natural leaders in peaceful coexistence, aiding their natural curiosity and desire to make friends.
I call upon schools here such as Dar Al-Fikr and organizations such as the Youth Welfare Society to actively participate in this most humane of tasks — the promotion of understanding — and work toward a better tomorrow. And God bless you, Annette Swierzbinski.
(Note: Annette Swierzbinski can be reached at [email protected].)
