Þingsetningar athöfn Siðmenntar var haldin í dag, 9. september, í Tjarnarbíó. Þar ávarpaði Arndís Anna Kristínardóttir Gunnarsdóttir, formaður Siðmenntar, samkomuna og Ríma Nasr flutti hugvekju. Þess à milli flutti Róberta Andersen hugljúf tónlistaratriði. Fjöldi þingmanna lagði leið sína til okkar á athöfnina og þökkum við þeim vel fyrir komuna.
Meðfylgjandi er hugvekja Rímu:
Góðan daginn,
Ég heiti Ríma Nasr, ég er frá Swaida, sem er borg í suðurhluta Sýrlands, en ég fæddist í Venesúela og fékk nýlega íslenskan ríkisborgararétt, sem er mér mikill heiður! Ég tala ekki mjög góða íslensku ennþá þannig að ég ætla að skipta yfir í ensku.
I am here today to speak not as a Syrian/Venezuelan refugee or immigrant, I am here today not as Rima the teacher or the artist, not even as one of the top Icelandic volunteers!
I am here as an abstract idea of a human being, asking to be seen as the person I am, with no labels, titles or pre-judgments, and I want to see you all the same way, not as lawyers, politicians, activists or icelanders, but simply as people, with feelings and hearts.
Experience #1
For the past three years, I have moved between two continents, two different countries, far away from my original home, searching for safety and better conditions of life, looking for peace and quiet, wanting a normal life, where I can stop surviving and actually start living!
Not to forget an important reason, which is to reunite with my family whom they mean everything to me.
I came to Iceland to start again, seeking a chance to live freely and without constant fear, to try and see how life could be when the citizens are treated justly and protected by law! Where humans can be respected! Therefore, I applied for asylum, and the clock started ticking!
you know what hurt me the most? The waiting, it was like waiting for Godo! Waiting for the UTL decision that could change my whole journey.
There were times when I felt I was losing my mind thinking of the unknown, but also I was patient! I didn’t want to just sit and wait, I wanted to do something because I respect my time, and that was my motive to start my voluntary work with the Red Cross and the musical camp Stelpur Rokka/Laeti, I also signed up for an Icelandic programme at Háskóli íslands because I wanted to learn the language and integrate better in the society. But, unfortunately, reality hit me hard again, and even the law couldn’t protect me this time, so my file was rejected and my needs for protection were denied. At some point, I felt that my feelings, my life, my dreams were all reduced into a case number! So I was deported!
For me, it seemed more like an exile, punished for a wrong I didn’t do, forced to leave, and live in isolation and separation from my family and the friendships I made after two years.
I also remember while going through the procedure of voluntary return, I read a sentence whenI was signing some paper work, something about being removed! (Funny!) I imagined myself a stain of ink! but now it can not be taken off anymore :)
Experience #2
Now I would like to take you for a bit to another part of my life, my other reality, because it feels that I am living two different lives, like I am in a parallel universe or something, one of my darkest experiences!
I grew up with wars around me, and death took a major part of my thoughts, it was even close to me many times, I started to think maybe this land is cursed! Syria was finally free after 14 years of committed crimes against humanity, 14 years of dictatorship, and now we can take a moment to breathe. I heard the news while I was being deported, and I remember my feelings quite well. I mean I was happy but at the same time I was afraid!
My concern was valid! Yet another traumatic event happened, that shook us all to the core, and that was the savage and inhumane attack on my dear city Swaida that happened on the 13th of July, leaving the city under a siege until this day, and in a very difficult situation. People’s lives were taken simply for who they are, for their faith and identity, also, other minorities in Syria had the same fate. The crimes committed during 14 years of war in Syria, were repeated during 2 or 3 days in Swaida, and this time, with full hatred, revenge and brutality. Why did this happen? Why does it keep happening? We wanted freedom, we wanted a law that governs and protects everyone despite their differences, what were we fighting for all these years?
It breaks my heart to see my country divided, but it breaks my heart even more to witness all these massacres against the people of Swaida, and I support them with their right to self-determination.
Two sides of every experience
All these years, I have carried with me images and stories of pain, disappointments, sadness and loss, even there were times where I lost all hope, and stopped believing in humanity.. but at the same time, I have carried stories of resilience, empathy, strength, patience, and determination.
These harsh experiences could have broken me, the wars..the deportation, but I refused to surrender, I refused to remain silent and to not try whatever it takes to fight for my right, as a human being, who deserves to have the choice to live in peace. So I spoke up, I reached out, to meet on the way astonishing people, who have heard and seen me for who I am, people who have lifted me when I was falling, supported and helped me for no particular reason or interest. With them I restored my faith in humanity.
And now I am reminded again that to stand up for a person is to stand up for all humanity. I have learned from each experience that connection, communication, empathy, honesty and solidarity are foundations of human relations, and that life is about choices, and I made a choice to not remain silent, because silence hurts.
What I want to tell
Beyond my personal journey lies a truth too often forgotten or ignored: when we fail to see humans as humans, injustice will thrive.
Therefore, I ask everyone who has the power to protect and defend the weak, the power to speak up for the voiceless, the power to legislate and bring change: see with your hearts, embrace the human inside you, make sure that humanity will stand still throughout time, and that real justice will be applied.
I am here today in solidarity with my people in Swaida, and their right to decide their own future, a right every community should have. I am here for the innocent lives that have been lost, for the children who are the seeds we plant that could decide on our future. I am here for the abducted women. I am here for the mothers whose hearts might never heal.
I am here for the oppressed, here, there and everywhere, for every voice that has been silenced, for every person who got hurt for no reason at all.
Let us keep trying to make this world kinder, by being true to ourselves and to each other. I want to live without fear, to keep learning about love, patience and seeing people as they really are.
This is my call to you, and to myself: to choose compassion, and justice, and to turn those choices into action.
Thank you so much for inviting me and for listening.
Takk fyrir!