Stand Together 1 Hand-in-Hand - Rochester STEM Academy...STEM. Bisharo Nahir, a senior at STEM,...
1
1 community Somalia Afrika Is where we all come from A piece of it lives within all of us A land as old as time itself Jagged edges divide the land Yet we all stand together hand-in-hand Stand Together Hand-in-Hand POETRY BY SOMALI GIRLS FROM ROCHESTER STEM ACADEMY BY TERRI ALLRED BREAK STEREOTYPES AND CELEBRATE ere is a vibrant Somali community in Rochester, and many of the youth aend STEM. Bisharo Nahir, a senior at STEM, explains, “We tell stories and share poetry in our community. When Dr. Rossi [director of STEM] was trying to decide what we were all good at, he concluded that we all talk, a lot.” Oral tradition and storytelling are integral parts of the Somali culture, so it wasn’t a stretch to understand why writing and sharing poetry became a major part of the curriculum there. e second writing assignment brought four young women—Bishara Nahir, Hibaq Mohamed, Sagal Abdi and Muna Abdiasis— together to co-create a piece about who they are and who they are not. Living as Somalis in the United States can be a difficult experience, for teenage girls especially. “We have a triple whammy,” Sagal shares. “We are girls. We are African-American. We are Muslim. If you don’t tell people who you are, they will just make assumptions.” is assignment allowed them to break stereotypes and share what they celebrate about their home country. EAST AFRICA’S MOST BEAUTIFUL e group of four girls gathered for three intense days to write the piece, “East Africa’s Most Beautiful: Somalia.” “Frank taught us to write the details and allow the framework to come out later,” says Bisharo. eir framework became a powerfully wrien and beautifully performed poem that they first presented at Rochester International Association’s World Festival 2015. PERFORMING POETRY Initially, they didn’t understand what it meant to perform a piece of poetry. ey recited their work but their instructor wanted them to go deeper. “[Frank] wanted third-degree burns,” laughs Hibaq, “I didn’t think I could be that powerful.” Soon they learned the storytelling arts of facial expression, choreography and modulating the projection of their voices. I T BEGAN AS A CHALLENGE. VISITING SPOKEN WORD ARTIST FRANK SENTWALI PROMPTED HIS CLASS AT ROCHESTER STEM ACADEMY TO CREATE SOMETHING NEW. THE STUDENTS HAD WRITTEN POETRY BEFORE BUT NEVER ON A BLANK CANVAS. THAT WAS THE BEGINNING OF THE JOURNEY THAT WOULD ULTIMATELY TAKE THESE TALENTED POETS TO AUGSBURG COLLEGE WHERE THEY PERFORMED IN FRONT OF FORMER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER AND AN INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY AT THE 2015 YOUTH FORUM AS PART OF THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE FORUM. I am Somalia You never met a force as strong as me I come from a country that breeds revolutionaries Sent soldiers and brothers to Angola, South Africa, Mozambique Taught the world how to stand on its own two feet What we are is what they wish they could be A country of speakers Poetry in our heart Beautiful songs on our tongues I may never have seen it But vividly I dream it. Even experiencing the performance wasn’t enough to impress upon the performers the depth of their impact. “We didn’t know we had that potential, that impact on the audience, until we saw the video of our performance. It was really powerful,” Sagal remembers. A large part of sharing their work is accurately being able to read or assess the audience and their potential reaction. “Regardless of what you write, you regulate your performance to the audience,” explains Bisharo. During their performance at Augsburg College, there were over 1,000 people in the audience, with countries streaming in live from all over the world. When the girls took the stage, they realized that the audience had begun snapping their fingers in cadence with the poetry and vocalizing affirmations. ey were emboldened to put their hearts and souls into the performance resulting in a standing ovation from the audience. Rochester STEM Academy students will be performing at the World Festival on Friday April 29, 2016 at 7 p.m. at Mayo High School. Other performances will be listed on the STEM web site as they are scheduled: rochesterstemacademy.org. Terri is the owner of ird Eye Tribal Dance Studio and Business Consulting. She lives in Rochester with her husband and two sons. Sagal Abdi, Bisharo Nahir and Hibaq Mohamed of Rochester STEM Academy. Muna and Sagal at the Rochester International Association World Festival 2015. Photo courtesy of Terri Allred. Photo taken by Terri Allred. RWmagazine.com January/February 2016 21
Transcript of Stand Together 1 Hand-in-Hand - Rochester STEM Academy...STEM. Bisharo Nahir, a senior at STEM,...
1 community
SomaliaAfrika
Is where we all come fromA piece of it lives within all of us
A land as old as time itselfJagged edges divide the land
Yet we all stand together hand-in-hand
Stand Together Hand-in-HandPOETRY BY SOMALI GIRLS FROM ROCHESTER STEM ACADEMYBY TERRI ALLRED
BREAK STEREOTYPES AND CELEBRATEThere is a vibrant Somali community in Rochester, and many of the youth attend STEM. Bisharo Nahir, a senior at STEM, explains, “We tell stories and share poetry in our community. When Dr. Rossi [director of STEM] was trying to decide what we were all good at, he concluded that we all talk, a lot.” Oral tradition and storytelling are integral parts of the Somali culture, so it wasn’t a stretch to understand why writing and sharing poetry became a major part of the curriculum there.
The second writing assignment brought four young women—Bishara Nahir, Hibaq Mohamed, Sagal Abdi and Muna Abdiasis— together to co-create a piece about who they are and who they are not. Living as Somalis in the United States can be a difficult experience, for teenage girls especially. “We have a triple whammy,” Sagal shares. “We are girls. We are African-American. We are Muslim. If you don’t tell people who you are, they will just make assumptions.”
This assignment allowed them to break stereotypes and share what they celebrate about their home country.
EAST AFRICA’S MOST BEAUTIFULThe group of four girls gathered for three intense days to write the piece, “East Africa’s Most Beautiful: Somalia.”
“Frank taught us to write the details and allow the framework to come out later,” says Bisharo. Their framework became a powerfully written and beautifully performed poem that they first presented at Rochester International Association’s World Festival 2015.
PERFORMING POETRY Initially, they didn’t understand what it meant to perform a piece of poetry. They recited their work but their instructor wanted them to go deeper. “[Frank] wanted third-degree burns,” laughs Hibaq, “I didn’t think I could be that powerful.” Soon they learned the storytelling arts of facial expression, choreography and modulating the projection of their voices.
IT BEGAN AS A CHALLENGE. VISITING SPOKEN WORD ARTIST FRANK SENTWALI PROMPTED HIS CLASS AT ROCHESTER STEM
ACADEMY TO CREATE SOMETHING NEW. THE STUDENTS HAD WRITTEN POETRY BEFORE BUT NEVER ON A BLANK CANVAS. THAT WAS THE BEGINNING OF THE JOURNEY THAT WOULD ULTIMATELY TAKE THESE TALENTED POETS TO AUGSBURG COLLEGE WHERE THEY PERFORMED IN FRONT OF FORMER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER AND AN INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY AT THE 2015 YOUTH FORUM AS PART OF THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE FORUM.
I am SomaliaYou never met a force as strong as meI come from a country that breeds revolutionariesSent soldiers and brothers to Angola, South Africa, MozambiqueTaught the world how to stand on its own two feetWhat we are is what they wish they could beA country of speakersPoetry in our heartBeautiful songs on our tonguesI may never have seen itBut vividly I dream it.
Even experiencing the performance wasn’t enough to impress upon the performers the depth of their impact. “We didn’t know we had that potential, that impact on the audience, until we saw the video of our performance. It was really powerful,” Sagal remembers.
A large part of sharing their work is accurately being able to read or assess the audience and their potential reaction. “Regardless of what you write, you regulate your performance to the audience,” explains Bisharo. During their performance at Augsburg College, there were over 1,000 people in the audience, with countries streaming in live from all over the world. When the girls took the stage, they realized that the audience had begun snapping their fingers in cadence with the poetry and vocalizing affirmations. They were emboldened to put their hearts and souls into the performance resulting in a standing ovation from the audience.
Rochester STEM Academy students will be performing at the World Festival on Friday April 29, 2016 at 7 p.m. at Mayo High School. Other performances will be listed on the STEM web site as they are scheduled: rochesterstemacademy.org.
Terri is the owner of Third Eye Tribal Dance Studio and Business Consulting. She lives in Rochester with her husband and two sons.
Sagal Abdi, Bisharo Nahir and Hibaq Mohamed of Rochester STEM Academy.
Muna and Sagal at the Rochester International Association World Festival 2015.
Phot
o co
urte
sy o
f Ter
ri A
llred
.
Phot
o ta
ken
by T
erri
Allr
ed.
RWmagazine.com January/February 2016 21
![Untitled-1 [] · 2014-07-22 · t. LININGTHK INDICATING WITH TRAVEL STOP Part N o Part Nam e Body / Lining Diaphragm c) Bonnet Compressor Hand eel Stem Bushing Stem Thrust Bearing](https://static.fdocuments.us/doc/165x107/5f7e09c5ed3a051428733279/untitled-1-2014-07-22-t-liningthk-indicating-with-travel-stop-part-n-o-part.jpg)
