Open Letter to our Christian friends by Sahar Amarir from Morocco
Dear Middle Eastern Christians,
I know this year has been difficult for you. I know the previous years were too. Maybe you think I’m supposed to not understand because I’m Muslim; so how could I understand you as Christians?
I don’t know about the sound of bombs falling from the sky, or the sound of gun bullets racing through the air. But I know about people thinking you don’t belong where you are, saying you are part of another civilization, another continent and that your presence is a mistake, counter-logical, unnatural. And I know I don’t want this idea to win or dominate, here or there, against me or against you.
I don’t want to lie to you and tell you I’m sure it gets better, because I don’t know if it does and I found myself doubting about it more often than I should lately.One thing that I never doubt of is that if we don’t try to make it better, it sure won’t.
Without you, we are not us. So please continue to be. To be, and to be visible. To be loud. To be lively. Keep on shouting, all your feelings are legitimate- anger, frustration, angst, despair, rage or happiness, comfort, hope, love.
And if your voice gets cracked, tell us, remind us that are voices are supposed to and actually have to shout for you, scream for you, that our eyes are supposed to cry with you and our mouths laugh with you. Remind us that when everyone everywhere tries to paint everything in black and white, we can mess it up for them by smudging it to create grey and we can add small points of colors until we hide it all by making it a canvas of millions of small changes that turned it into a unique piece of colorful art.
Sahar, YaLa Young Leaders
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