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FROM the bottom of their hearts in Ampang, Hilla Community Centre has collated a few of their students’ works into an anthology.
What started as an attempt to make literature relatable for their refugee students, became an Afghan version of ‘The Freedom Writers Diary’ – a non-fiction 1999 book written by a group of students from a high school in California.
When English teacher Anita Wong noticed that reading was not a common practice among her students because of a lack of relevance in their materials, she quickly came up with a solution to the problem.
She had her students write poems and open letters about their life and observations as a class project; and soon enough, they had a collection of literature relevant to them, created by them.
‘Pouring Out Our Thoughts: An Anthology of Poems and Open Letters’, became home to the inner thoughts, emotions, regrets, laments and dreams of the Afghan refugees situated here in Malaysia.
The beauty that lies within the book is the normalcy that is being highlighted by these children.
From poems about a Lonesome Cat, to the oh-so-normal inner struggles of a teenager, to simple haikus about frogs with bulging eyes; this anthology paints an image of refugee children that people easily overlook, that they are children just like any other.
“They are not just refugees begging for sympathy and free handouts,” writes Anita in the introduction of the anthology.
Although we do get a few tear-jerking moments through some of the open letters, those pleas are not a cry for attention, and should not be taken as one.
The raw emotions that these students bring to their works of art transcends beyond the pages and into your hearts as your fingers flip through the pages.
However, these emotions are not the only thing packed within these pieces, as the student writers bring us through what it’s like back in Afghanistan.
We see and hear what these refugees experienced in their home country that drove them to flee.
A compact book filled with emotions, imagery and experiences like none other.
The Hilla Community Centre is a refugee school located in Ampang.
Started with a small class of 7 students in October 2007, the school has been running for more than a decade with the belief that education is the key to liberation.
“Hilla,” means hope in Pashto, the official language of Afghanistan. – The Vibes, January 30, 2021
For information on how to purchase a copy, check here.
