"Fraternity Day"

I met a group of people in October who have established what they call the “Dialogue Forum,” a grassroots organization here in Cairo that organizes events to stimulate inter-group dialogue. So it was in this group that I met Janique, a Swiss Christian, and Nagy, an Egyptian Christian, and Sharin, an Egyptian Muslim, and David, a Sudanese Christian, and Essam, a Muslim Egyptian, and Sarah, an American Christian, examples of the incredible diversity within the group. And what a joy its been to meet with open-minded people with such eagerness to live for and learn from the ‘other.’ As I understand the origins of the ‘Dialogue Forum,’ two years ago a group of people working in the same office decided it would be good to organize events to bring diverse groups together for the simple purpose of breaking down the walls that commonly divide people here in Egypt. A number of events are generally planned each month for all ages. For example, just last week the group took a tour together of Islamic Cairo, an area dense in the Islamic beginnings here in Cairo. And next week we will take a tour to Coptic Cairo to learn about the origins of Christianity here. From time to time the members also work together to provide “Fraternity Days” for children of diverse backgrounds here in Cairo. As it was still three weeks before the first fraternity when I first met these people, I was able to step right into the planning process for October’s Fraternity Day.

Originally, it seemed that as the children aged 7-12 only spoke Arabic, my ability to be of any great service was extremely limited. Basically, I thought that what the group was doing was incredibly cool and I wanted to be around to see it happen. I soon learned that there are no bystanders in this group. After the first meeting, somehow my interest in photography won me the position of ‘video man’ though I’d never in my life really handled a video camera. When word got out in the second meeting that I will be studying medicine (emphasis on future tense), I quickly became the ‘first aid man’ for the day. And when in the third meeting the group realized that the song session they had planned had no leader, I became the ‘song man’ for music in a language I can’t speak:> When all was said and done after the last meeting, we pretended we were ready and agreed to see each other on Friday, the day of the event.

This was the first Fraternity day of many planned (insha’allah—‘God-willing’). Something like 2.5 kids to every adult—on paper the ratio looked great but when bus loads of Sudanese kids and Garbage Collector kids and British International school kids started to unload, the realization of the incredible nature of the day began to sink in. Even the original plan of games in a giant circle was a challenge as kids kept exclusively to the groups with they arrived. And as finally a loose semblance of a fragmented circle was formed, and I began to realize that this was truly the first time for many that they had ever been in the common presence of ‘others.’ We had planned for three times of video interviews throughout the day—arrival, afternoon, and departure. “Are you happy to be here?” we asked. “Yes,” “Of course,” “Sure,” were the typical elementary school kid replies, mixed with a few “No—I don’t know anybody here” replies. They were young kids—so young I wondered if they saw black or white, rich or poor, Muslim or Christian so much as people they didn’t know. Yet, through mid-morning, it was clear that despite the laughter, fun, and joy had in just a few hours, there existed some deep-seated stereotypes, as one answered “These people aren’t like my friends at home.” During the morning there were some who outright refused to cooperate with the program, choosing to watch from the side.

For the children who chose to participate, they were learned quickly about the ‘other.’ Soon after arrival random groups of equal ratios of Sudanese, Egyptians, Christians, Muslims, rich, and poor were formed and activities arranged for each ‘team’ to engage in. As in any group, the individuals must learn to work together to find any success whether it was in a game of football or basketball or pictionary. Songs and artwork and inter-group discussion introduced real people with various talents, humor, and even frustrations. ‘Teams’ adapted creative names and anthems as they each fought, ironically enough, for the distinction of “Most Cooperative”—the ideology being that the team who best cooperated was the team to be the most successful (very true, but we are currently working on developing replacement games like low-ropes and group-building activities to replace games pitting one team against the other where there is always a loser). Since it was during Ramadan, in the evening was an iftar for everyone. After the meal was the last surprise of a show by the local Sudanese dance troupe. For me, the success of the day was most vivid as I watched the chairs cleared for the stage as hand-in-hand all danced together with the Sudanese. “Yes, I’d like to come back for I have made many friends today,” said one before leaving. Regardless of what each child thought about the ‘other’ before they left, they learned much of their similarities throughout the day. It was truly a delight to watch, with much due thanks to the incredible staff who worked with the kids—I was amazed at their ability to jump in and move amongst the kids in amazing ways that created a wonderful environment of safety, freedom, and friendship. And no one got hurt!! I think its definitely a sign we should have another. I want to leave with giving the words of the theme song that circled throughout the day, words that were on the lips of children as they left, words that will stick in all of our minds until next time, words that give us hope and direction for the future:

Ihna Kollena Marba
Hannayen Hagat Kibeera

All of Us Together
Will Do Great Things