Cultural Identity Struggles
By Eman M.
Language is the most important means to express our social identity. Regardless to it's obvious importance in our daily life communication, and how it convey our ideas, beliefs, and our point of views to others. Our language and culture are the reflection of our identity and who we are or where do we belong. Sometimes we across some situations that threat our identity somehow without our awareness and how we act is bushed most of times by the need of being accepted by others, but we forget that the others who must accepts us as we are.
I still remember when I was just eight years old when I used to travel with my family to visit our relatives in Saudi Arabia, and I naturally talk with them using my Kuwaiti accent but children there found it funny so they start laughing, then I changed my accent and tried to talk the way they do just to feel the acceptance. When time came to go back home my friends in Kuwait didn't accept the change that occurred to my accent when I was away, I heard some giggling and laughing whenever I used some of the Saudi's words (such as "duffeiny" rather than "dizzeiny" which means push me).
Another example of how people struggle with expressing their social and cultural identity in a different culture. I have a friend who is living in the U S A. for a year now, and she is wearing "Abaya and Niqab", but she can't were them anymore because of people's reaction toward the traditional black Abaya and Niqab, she says that once a child started to cry aloud the moment he saw her and he was pointing at her with fear in his eyes. After that incident she started to wear colorful Abaya and unfortunately without the Niqab.
Hello girls, these are two examples of my own life, and I would like to hear yours too, so feel free to post your experiences of cultural identity struggles I'm sure you have many to share with us.
ReplyDeleteI felt so bad for your friend in the USA and what's happening to her happens to so many other Muslims , but still people there should accept the fact that she's Muslim and that's her traditional costumes .
ReplyDeletebeing open minded is the best first solution for the misunderstanding that could happen between people from different cultures , and about your first situation , being accepted among others should not be linked with the persons culture or way of speaking but unfortunately this is what we experience in our daily life , manners should matter not culture .
thank you for your wonderful post .
It's very interesting topic, actually as you said people should accept us as what we are not as what they want us to be. The culture is an important element of the human personality and the environment affect us in many different ways. In spite of, that we all Arabic but each country had it own culture and tradition.
ReplyDeleteFarah.W
Actually I feel too sorry for your friend, and what Muneera said it happens for many Muslims in Europe countries.
Thank you Muneera and Farah for your wonderful comments.
ReplyDeleteWhat we learn from these situations and other similar to it that being open minded to other and accepting them is the hardest thing, because it mean you don't judge them according to the way they wear or speak for example, we can't stereotype people of one culture to an image that is not correct most of the time.
I liked your story,specialy the story of the mis understanding of your language when you where a child. And I am very sorry that I did not know you from the first time I read yours.
ReplyDeleteActually Eman I think that you raised a very interesting topic.
ReplyDeleteTo me, it's ok to make a few temporal adjustments in order to fit in, as long as those adjusments wont contradict with your identity or culture. The problem happens when those few adjusments replace your own and make you forget about everything that defines you as a person. The problem is not with the change, but with where you should draw the lines.
It needs strength, drive and pride to preserve your own culture, especially if you are living in a foreign country. You just have to raise up to the challange.
Thank you Doriya and Fatma for posting a comment, and Fatma that is exactly what we should do in similar situations to pay attention to what define us as members of certain social group or community.
ReplyDelete