Lilia Bellahcen, Grade 12
UWC Costa Rica
Who has not been exposed to stigmas around Islam and Muslim identity? An increased climate of Islamophobia can be attributed to, amongst other events, the Attacks of September 11, 2001and the Charlie Hebdo’s publications. What was once a pride for me became a reason to fear people’s judgments if I’d come to tell them that I am, indeed, Muslim.
March 29th. Ramadan was approaching. One of the most important periods of the year in Islam where we celebrate values of forgiveness, generosity, compassion to others who are in a less favorable situation, all while fasting between sunsets and sunrises to worship god. While in my country, all Moroccans were already getting ready for this exciting period of family reunions and celebrations weeks in advance, I was facing the frustration of being miles away from home where very few people outside of the very small Muslim family knew about Ramadan and our customs. I wanted to share this special moment with my community.
One thing to know about UWC is the strong relationship of brotherhood/sisterhood between second years and first years. I knew who to reach out to for support. I stormed into one of my second year's room and told him the object of my concerns. He was a Muslim student from Bangladesh and was known on our campus for giving excellent advice.
“Send an email to the two generations.”, he simply said.
“But what if I am judged based on what they hear about my religion on social media…?” I responded with a small dash of panic.
“And? Prove them wrong!”
He was right! What was UWC about after all?
I started writing my email, trying my best to explain the concept of Ramadan. The pressure was coming down. I was calling for respect, I was calling for support from the students during a period that we have to go through away from our loved ones and I was calling everyone to open their minds and hearts.
I was surprised by the wave of love and support the Muslim family received following up this email. The curiosity of the students was triggered and a flow of questions streamed over us. Staff members offered their help and set a new system in the cafeteria for us to have food to break the fast. Some students tried to fast some days, others cooked with us, and all this was the perfect excuse to bring people together.
That's when I really realized that the UWC experience wasn't just about expanding your social network by meeting new people. The magnitude of the UWC movement and what this experience could bring to us goes far beyond that. It's about forming the most amazing combinations of people and experiencing things from a new perspective. We all traveled the world to spend two years with complete strangers from completely different backgrounds. We were here to appreciate other cultures and to unite teenagers with different beliefs and finally realize that our differences are negligible compared to our similarities.
March 29th. Ramadan was approaching. One of the most important periods of the year in Islam where we celebrate values of forgiveness, generosity, compassion to others who are in a less favorable situation, all while fasting between sunsets and sunrises to worship god. While in my country, all Moroccans were already getting ready for this exciting period of family reunions and celebrations weeks in advance, I was facing the frustration of being miles away from home where very few people outside of the very small Muslim family knew about Ramadan and our customs. I wanted to share this special moment with my community.
One thing to know about UWC is the strong relationship of brotherhood/sisterhood between second years and first years. I knew who to reach out to for support. I stormed into one of my second year's room and told him the object of my concerns. He was a Muslim student from Bangladesh and was known on our campus for giving excellent advice.
“Send an email to the two generations.”, he simply said.
“But what if I am judged based on what they hear about my religion on social media…?” I responded with a small dash of panic.
“And? Prove them wrong!”
He was right! What was UWC about after all?
I started writing my email, trying my best to explain the concept of Ramadan. The pressure was coming down. I was calling for respect, I was calling for support from the students during a period that we have to go through away from our loved ones and I was calling everyone to open their minds and hearts.
I was surprised by the wave of love and support the Muslim family received following up this email. The curiosity of the students was triggered and a flow of questions streamed over us. Staff members offered their help and set a new system in the cafeteria for us to have food to break the fast. Some students tried to fast some days, others cooked with us, and all this was the perfect excuse to bring people together.
That's when I really realized that the UWC experience wasn't just about expanding your social network by meeting new people. The magnitude of the UWC movement and what this experience could bring to us goes far beyond that. It's about forming the most amazing combinations of people and experiencing things from a new perspective. We all traveled the world to spend two years with complete strangers from completely different backgrounds. We were here to appreciate other cultures and to unite teenagers with different beliefs and finally realize that our differences are negligible compared to our similarities.
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