DAMMAM, 24 March 2006 — Where do I belong? That is the question that seven young Saudi men pondered at a workshop organized in Alkhobar by the British Council. The workshop was part of “I Belong,” a creative writing project involving established UK authors and aspiring writers in many countries.
Part of the British Council’s Connecting Futures initiative, “I Belong” includes an international online chain story, to be created by young writers from countries with significant Muslim populations. Each writer contributes a 2,000-word chapter on the theme of “belonging”. Each chapter is to stand alone as a story, and also link to the others.
The ethos behind the project is to encourage participants to explore how they and other young people in different countries choose to portray themselves creatively, and to appreciate similar and different approaches to the theme and representation. The entire “I Belong” project is detailed at http://ibelong.britishcouncil.org/.
The story chain began in Pakistan in January 2004 with a week-long Creative Writing Workshop delivered by the celebrated British/Pakistani novelist Kamila Shamsie. In December 2005, according to Lina Nasser Chawki, Eastern Province branch manager, Women’s Section for the British Council, 12 young Saudi women participated in a workshop in Alkhobar under the direction of British author Bernardine Evaristo and Saudi poet Nimah I. Nawwab. Out of respect for Saudi traditions, the British Council held separate workshops for women and men.
“Three of the stories created by the female Saudi students have been selected for inclusion in the ‘I Belong’ project and the case will be the same for the young men. We also plan to publish a book of selected stories,” said Chawki.
While both “I Belong” workshops were held in the Eastern Province, the initiative was sponsored by the British Council, with the GCC management of the project under Karen Daly-Gherabi, assistant director of the British Council in the Kingdom. The male and female candidates selected to participate in the “I Belong” workshops were drawn from Saudi candidates across the Kingdom, with all expenses borne by the British Council.
Last week, British author Matt Whyman directed the “I Belong” workshop for Saudi men. Whyman is the author of several novels for young adults and he is also a popular “agony uncle,” dispensing advice to young people through a number of media outlets.
“In the ‘I Belong’ project young people are asked to write about ‘belonging’ — where they belong and really that extends to their identity,” Whyman said. “The first thing I said to the students in the workshop was, ‘I’m not here to tell you what to write. My job is to help you express your thoughts as clearly as possible.’ I worked purely on creative writing techniques. My goal throughout the workshop was to help young writers turn their burning ideas into burning stories.”
During the workshop, the early drafts of the stories were read aloud and the entire group participated in constructively criticizing the works. After the stories are completed shortly, Whyman plans to choose for inclusion in the “I Belong” story chain the three stories that most appeal and connect to a global audience. He believes the selection will be a difficult task. Whyman found that there were commonalties in the stories created by the Saudi students. Most of the stories were written in first person form, from the heart, and many stories incorporated humor.
“I also discovered that these young men have huge respect for their mothers and receive considerable inspiration from them. I have never heard this from students in the UK,” he said. “The young Saudi men I have been working with this week are proud that their mothers are their source of inspiration. This has been a revelation for me. I have come here with a completely open mind and I have seen stories written by young people here that would never have been written by young people in the UK.”
Whyman admitted that the workshops have not been a one-way learning experience. He did have certain expectations about the Middle East before coming to Saudi Arabia, mostly based on what he had seen through television news.
“I have been hugely surprised, in a very positive way about what I have found since I have been here,” Whyman commented. “The hospitality has been excellent. The sense of humor has been outstanding. I have done a lot of laughing since I came here and I really didn’t think that I would. Of course there are traditions and customs that are new to me and I am very aware of them and sensitive to them, but everyone has been accommodating and gracious in putting me at ease. It’s natural that when you meet individuals you see that Saudi Arabia is a human place — like anywhere else.”