You know, I had a first draft of this issue ready to be edited and published, but at the last minute, I decided to rewrite the whole thing. So, now this edition is mainly based on the encounters of yesterday, Friday 1st of September because I realized I want to write about that day. In the next edition, I can go back to what I had in my first draft.
Yesterday was my last day at the apartment that I was renting in central Stockholm. I lived there for nearly two years, which is the longest I have stayed in an apartment in Stockholm (crazy moving all the time). The experience living there can be spared for another discussion, but anyway, what I was trying to say is that the last couple of days were very emotional for me. When the time came when I should leave the keys to the reception in the building next to mine (it’s a special government building so there is a reception with administrative staff), but since I had luggage and belongings, I didn’t want to leave them alone (for the risk of being stolen which is common there), and so I was waiting to see if I can carry all the stuff to the next building, which was technically impossible. While waiting and thinking, a neighbour walked towards the building and since we had brief small talks before, he asked me if I was leaving, we talked a bit of banal talk, and then I thought I would take the opportunity and have the courage to ask him for this favour of guarding my stuff until I leave the keys. Something that I never ever do in Sweden, is to ask a stranger for a favour. I don’t know how much you know about Sweden, but people are used to doing things on their own and it’s not a small-talk culture.
Anyway, this old man was kind enough to say sure I can wait for you and look after your stuff. Two minutes later, I got back, and we had another talk but not banal this time. We talked in Swedish and I am translating part of it below. I don’t know why he started the conversation and this topic, maybe those two minutes gave him the courage to say something that he really wanted to say and was hesitant or maybe he thought that since I was moving, we might never cross paths again, and that this would be the thing he wanted me to remember.
I walk back towards him saying out loud:
-Thanks a million!
-No problem. (silence) You know... not all Swedes are racist, he says.
(Silence and his eyes become red and mine too.)
-I know I know, for sure, I reply.
-Even the burning of the Quran is not even done by a Swede, but by an Iraqi guy and a f* Danish guy, he says.
(I nod my head, not knowing what to answer.)
-You know this is not the Sweden that I have known. I miss home, I want my home back, I want Sweden back. He says and continues; you know I have Twitter and I write about all that f* up government and how they are destroying the country, he continues.
-Oh that’s great that you write about it! I say in admiration. Yes, I know it’s horrible how the country is changing, even me who only came in 2015, I can feel the change and how things have somehow become worse now.
(other stuff that I don't exactly remember)
-Good luck with your new move! Bye.
-Thanks, bye!
As you can see from this simple conversation, Sweden is living in interesting scary times, where half of the population is against the current right-wing government. If things remain the same, The future is quite terrifying. Not only things have become harder and more absurd regarding climate, migration and the economy, but also regarding art & culture.
Sweden which has always been a country that values art & culture, is now, unfortunately, questioning if culture is really necessary. Many budgets for art schools have been cut off, many cultural schools have been closed, and many museums and cultural places are being threatened to close off if they can’t meet the increasing prices of their premises's rents. It is very deceiving. This new government is claiming that the cultural sector is not a priority and that the “money” should be put into the military and healthcare. Everything is being privatized.
People who live in Sweden became enraged by the situation and some movements and initiatives have been taking place in response to the cultural crisis. One of them was initiated by playwright Isabel Cruz Liljegren, who suggested repeating the manifestation done in Sweden in 1988 when the cultural sector manifested for three minutes of silence where all plays/performances across the country paused for three minutes. So, on the 1st of September 2023, in Norrmalmstorg square in Stockholm as well as squares in Malmö and Göteborg, at 20:15 the same manifestation took place, the public paused for three minutes of silence and some plays paused their performance.
Photo from Norrmalmstorg in Stockholm during 'Tre tysta minuter' manifestation.
I was there with all the people who joined (which were not as many as we expected) and I got to witness three powerful minutes where we, people who work in the cultural sector, stood with solidarity for our art, culture, for younger generations who have the right to experience art and beauty in all its forms, for the future of a country that is changing rapidly. I was reminded of what I wrote in my first edition in May:
“Just imagine for a minute the world without concerts, movies, museums, novels, colours or dance. What would it look like? For me, it would be like living on Mars, with no soul. Creatives give the soul to the planet Earth. And they should be able to do that as long as they shall live.”
I didn’t know that this devaluation of the cultural sector was happening quite fast when I wrote those words back then. It was from my own frustration around the never-ending comment “Can you please find a job?” when people around me don’t see that an artist or illustrator is a job. Well, technically it’s not a job, because it doesn’t have the same rules as corporate jobs have, it’s a practice where you get to do what you really love, inspire others and work as much or as little or as crazy as you wish.
My magic is needed and since my magic lies in my mess, my mess is needed. [Quote/Affirmation by Maryn and Amie]
The mess can be your way of dressing, of eating, of talking, of creating, of writing, of anything really. And with this affirmation, we honour our mess. Being messy is magical. Messy individuals are magic. It's okay to be different, it's okay not to be like everyone else. It is not only okay but it is needed. It is needed to work in the cultural sector, for the sake of art!
Those two encounters that happened to me yesterday seemed unrelated but in fact, they are, they made me realize that people in Sweden now don't feel safe for different, yet same reasons. The ones that feel their presence is a nuisance, or the ones that try hard to prove that they are against the right ideologies. And the people behind the media and the politics are basically the wood that keeps the fire going.
Besides those encounters, there are two others that happened yesterday and made my day even more tough than it was. And so are some days. I hope September comes with new energy! And see you next month.
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Together we can support one another.
Share your thoughts with others.
Let's be vulnerable and manifest all our wishes.
🧚
Art & Love
Rana
Afterword
When I came across the open call of Astra Tidningen about the theme Skam (shame), I didn’t hesitate much. I knew I had a lot to say in regards to that theme, I worked on writing a personal essay and some poems and submitted them. When I got the response that my pieces would be published in the next issue, I was thrilled! This is the first time my writings were published in a magazine
Not counting a French poem that I wrote in high school and was published in the reader's section of Al Ahram Hebdo which is the only national French weekly journal in Egypt. The poem was called Palestine, Palestine. I began writing poems when I was around seven years old, and I wrote them in French because it was the language in which I was most fluent, and it was the language I could express myself fully. Later, when I left Egypt, I began writing in English, when it became the language I used the most (at work and socially), and guess what, now I even write in Swedish, still a beginner but it’s interesting! Yes, Swedish is technically the language I use the most right now (especially since 2020), at work and in most of my social hangouts. Interestingly, I don’t write in Arabic, which is my mother tongue but it’s also the language I started learning officially when I was twelve.
Although there were many aspects of shame that I wanted to tackle, I chose to write about my personal experience of being an immigrant (in different contexts as a child and adult). It was such a wonderful experience to work with editor Elliot Lundegård and art director Roby Redgrave. And I feel super excited to be participating in the same issue where other great writers, artists and designers are. The issue is now available for purchase in print or digitally here or in a selection of bookstores and libraries. Enjoy!
Spread of Astra Tidningen #3/2023 where two of my poems where published
Copied from their website and from the Editor-in-Chief: The magazine is published four times a year, each issue with a current theme. Predominant for each issue of Astra is the feminist outlook and understanding of the world. Astra started as a Women's magazine attached to the Swedish Liberal party in Finland and has been politically independent since 1992. Swedish is an official minority language in Finland, so the magazine is Finnish-Swedish.
