Blog by Ahmad Chukri.
Ahmad is a journalist from Syria. He now lives in Scotland with his family and is part of the Share My Table project coordinated by Scottish Refugee Council and Tramway.
“The story begins at the day’s end, with the setting sun announcing that tomorrow’s sunrise will give birth to a new day. Yesterday was dark and pitch black, but the new day brings me joy and delight. There is a saying that goes ‘’hope for the best and you shall find it’. Live every day with a new life, and forget the past and its damages. Life is short and should be full of joy.”
These are my words in the performance of Share My Table. The project has been running for seven months and involves 40 people young and old with family from all over the world, including Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Syria, Palestine, Pakistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Sudan, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia.
They have all come together to participate in the project, which brings together refugees and asylum seekers with local scots in creative art workshops. In these workshops, the group has discussed the way the media portrays refugees and asylum seekers, while sharing their stories with each other and sharing the taste of different food from a different country and culture every week.
The project is coordinated by Scottish Refugee Council, Tramway and two professional artists, Catrin Evans and Elena Mary Harris. We learned a lot about Scottish culture, and new skills from the workshops, like researching, writing, storytelling, performance and art. Overall we got the opportunity to speak in our voice and tell our stories through the art we created.
“I see a family standing in a queue, I see some people are happy, I see someone waiting and the traffic is green, I see people who are worried, I see someone who is angry, I see sad people, I see happiness, I see danger, I see stop, I see good news. “
The Share My Table performance and exhibition offers valuable opportunities to learn about and explore multicultural art and to get to know the new members of the community in Scotland.
Come to the Tramway to listen directly to the people from all around the world who have come to Scotland seeking a better life and to live in a safe place with good people like Scottish people.
