[Applause]
imagine having a legitimate fear of how
people might deceive you just because
your identity hello my name is Maria
Omer I’m sixteen years of age and I’ve
been living in different countries and
I’ve been going to international schools
all around the world
so far I’ve lived in Sweden and here in
England I’ll get back to that in a bit
something I’ve noticed about living in
different places is the way in which we
tend to show a particular attitude to
something that we view in other words
perspective but in particular the way in
which we perceive Arabs or Muslims in
general so here’s a wonderful picture of
me my class in Sweden in 2007 and let
you guys have a guess of which one of
these students I am hint I’m the only
brown one there Tania
so this is the little version of me and
I’m guessing you would already guessed
that but just the way in which you find
it easy to find to find out who I was in
the crowd the way in which you scanned
your eyes through the screen and picked
me out that’s how easy it is for airport
security to notice me as well now others
might see me as an outcast to society
yes I did stand-up from the crowd when I
was 6 years old and I still do but did
stand out from the crowd in a cheesy
obnoxious term the quote way no but in a
scary way
now I had a different perspective to
being different I thought it meant being
unique and special but not have someone
that we should fear not someone that we
should circumspect 24/7 but was this all
because I was Arab now let’s talk about
being Arab in fact let’s talk about the
media’s perspective about Arabs and how
it completely defines the way in which I
see my own culture some of you guys
might be familiar with some of these
stereotypes because they’re constantly
portrayed in movies on social media all
across the news one how our men are seen
as barbaric crazy and intolerant
– how every Arab lives in the desert
yeah and three and this is my favorite
one how every Arab woman is an oppressed
failed exotic belly dancer now let me
give you some geography and history
lessons first as you can see there are
23 official Arabic speaking countries
they distributed all across the Middle
East and North Africa so there’s no way
that we all live in the desert unless
you live in North Africa then I can’t
speak for you also make sure you thank
us next time you have a sip of your
delicious coffee because remember that
you originated first from yemen and ira
country oh how you looking forward for
an answer from you new university keep
it in mind that establish of the first
university in the world was a moroccan
woman around 9th century now these are
some amazing inventions and there is
also the musical notation the first
musical notations ever made were arabic
and that formed today’s modern music you
know these are some great inventions
apart from algebra that’s something we
have to apologize for I’m sorry
so moving on to a modern day topic an
issue that is dear to my heart and it’s
a sensitive and deep topic to every Arab
and that is the Syrian refugee crisis
and war now Arabs have experienced war
for a long time in fact we’re known for
this it’s been going on for decades in
Palestine Iraq Syria Libya Tunisia Egypt
Lebanon it’s just been going on since
forever more for me
see now I use the picture of Syrians
children smiling because I thought that
me objectifying their pain isn’t gonna
help anyway because they go into the
currently going through a really hard
time especially in Syria so so the
Syrian refugee crisis is one of the
biggest problems in the world and
biggest problems in politics and it’s
the most discussed issue in politics
actually I thought from Donald Trump now
questions my appear regarding the Syrian
refugee crisis such as why are they here
crowding our countries
hopefully what okay this is why in fact
this is one of the first pictures that
showed up as soon as I googled my own
country but what if our safety feels
threatened if they come to our country
tell us about it see you know in which
you know in the way in which you can’t
order food through your phone without
having to rehearse the lines or make
sure you don’t see something anything
like we don’t say anything wrong
that’s exactly how every error field as
soon as we step out of the house how we
look how he presents herself or how we
speak in fact I had doubts about today’s
presentation are feared on how you might
view me after but then I realized that I
have a voice I have a voice I should be
standing up for the unheard and I have
every right to be standing up for my
country and my culture so us as the new
generation we have a lot of power and we
could be standing up against xenophobia
racism and stereotypes so I asked all of
us to stand in unity this is one famous
Arabic quote that goes and remember
well healin so for tomorrow Lucifer
which translates to and finally the
storm will pass this is a quote that’s
deep and very special to my heart it’s a
it’s a quote that’s in every Arabs heart
and I hope it will remain in your hearts
thank you very much
[Applause]
well turn that career hook I haven’t had
a hug fantastic thank you listen you
know when you just for when you’re
talking about that kind of immediate
response one thing I know that when I
walk into room people notice I’m female
they also think I look a bit like
Beyonce I’m sure then you get the frame
and they notice that I’m maybe you know
I’m brown but they notice that I’ve got
a bit of a Midlands accent which clearly
means I own a whip it and I’m from the
north but on out what I’ve worked out is
that I I used to get very anxious about
that and one website I can’t be
everybody’s assumption so I’ll just do
me and then I’ll get on with that but
what I’m aware of is that that goes
against what people assume and then
there sometimes get a bit of a problem
where they’re thinking something and I’m
being a different way how do you cope
with that how do you cope with people
making these assumptions and you know
how do you kind of overcome them in
relationships well first of all I don’t
let it get to me because you know I am a
woman I am a Muslim I am an Arab there
are some you know difficulties I
experienced in my life and I’ve
experienced ever since I was a kid but I
don’t first thing that you have to know
is don’t let these things get to you
because whatever the meanness is about
you will never betray how we really are
yeah and you know you talked about at
airports that really kind of stuck with
me because I you know I take for granted
that I can just walk I’m just getting a
plane and fly where I like I can just
get on and walk through and get back and
come off it’s not the same experience
for some people and there’s things about
you that you know make people’s eye sore
do you get that anywhere else is that
just airports or is that something
that’s in your daily life it’s
definitely my daily life but once again
I don’t let it affect me as much because
I know there are much more than just you
know people’s views and that’s why I
asked everyone to to don’t just don’t
look into what the media says because
you know talk to someone from the
community don’t take notes from the
media because they love to twist things
around about Muslims about black people
about gays or any oppressed minorities
they love to make us seem bad in a way
yeah just don’t take notes so I think we
should all just hang out with you
and then we can say well my friend Maria
says thank you for inspiring
you’ve been courageous and thank you for
being awesome Maria you’re a star Maria
everybody
[Applause]
imagine having a legitimate fear of how
people might deceive you just because
your identity hello my name is Maria
Omer I’m sixteen years of age and I’ve
been living in different countries and
I’ve been going to international schools
all around the world
so far I’ve lived in Sweden and here in
England I’ll get back to that in a bit
something I’ve noticed about living in
different places is the way in which we
tend to show a particular attitude to
something that we view in other words
perspective but in particular the way in
which we perceive Arabs or Muslims in
general so here’s a wonderful picture of
me my class in Sweden in 2007 and let
you guys have a guess of which one of
these students I am hint I’m the only
brown one there Tania
so this is the little version of me and
I’m guessing you would already guessed
that but just the way in which you find
it easy to find to find out who I was in
the crowd the way in which you scanned
your eyes through the screen and picked
me out that’s how easy it is for airport
security to notice me as well now others
might see me as an outcast to society
yes I did stand-up from the crowd when I
was 6 years old and I still do but did
stand out from the crowd in a cheesy
obnoxious term the quote way no but in a
scary way
now I had a different perspective to
being different I thought it meant being
unique and special but not have someone
that we should fear not someone that we
should circumspect 24/7 but was this all
because I was Arab now let’s talk about
being Arab in fact let’s talk about the
media’s perspective about Arabs and how
it completely defines the way in which I
see my own culture some of you guys
might be familiar with some of these
stereotypes because they’re constantly
portrayed in movies on social media all
across the news one how our men are seen
as barbaric crazy and intolerant
– how every Arab lives in the desert
yeah and three and this is my favorite
one how every Arab woman is an oppressed
failed exotic belly dancer now let me
give you some geography and history
lessons first as you can see there are
23 official Arabic speaking countries
they distributed all across the Middle
East and North Africa so there’s no way
that we all live in the desert unless
you live in North Africa then I can’t
speak for you also make sure you thank
us next time you have a sip of your
delicious coffee because remember that
you originated first from yemen and ira
country oh how you looking forward for
an answer from you new university keep
it in mind that establish of the first
university in the world was a moroccan
woman around 9th century now these are
some amazing inventions and there is
also the musical notation the first
musical notations ever made were arabic
and that formed today’s modern music you
know these are some great inventions
apart from algebra that’s something we
have to apologize for I’m sorry
so moving on to a modern day topic an
issue that is dear to my heart and it’s
a sensitive and deep topic to every Arab
and that is the Syrian refugee crisis
and war now Arabs have experienced war
for a long time in fact we’re known for
this it’s been going on for decades in
Palestine Iraq Syria Libya Tunisia Egypt
Lebanon it’s just been going on since
forever more for me
see now I use the picture of Syrians
children smiling because I thought that
me objectifying their pain isn’t gonna
help anyway because they go into the
currently going through a really hard
time especially in Syria so so the
Syrian refugee crisis is one of the
biggest problems in the world and
biggest problems in politics and it’s
the most discussed issue in politics
actually I thought from Donald Trump now
questions my appear regarding the Syrian
refugee crisis such as why are they here
crowding our countries
hopefully what okay this is why in fact
this is one of the first pictures that
showed up as soon as I googled my own
country but what if our safety feels
threatened if they come to our country
tell us about it see you know in which
you know in the way in which you can’t
order food through your phone without
having to rehearse the lines or make
sure you don’t see something anything
like we don’t say anything wrong
that’s exactly how every error field as
soon as we step out of the house how we
look how he presents herself or how we
speak in fact I had doubts about today’s
presentation are feared on how you might
view me after but then I realized that I
have a voice I have a voice I should be
standing up for the unheard and I have
every right to be standing up for my
country and my culture so us as the new
generation we have a lot of power and we
could be standing up against xenophobia
racism and stereotypes so I asked all of
us to stand in unity this is one famous
Arabic quote that goes and remember
well healin so for tomorrow Lucifer
which translates to and finally the
storm will pass this is a quote that’s
deep and very special to my heart it’s a
it’s a quote that’s in every Arabs heart
and I hope it will remain in your hearts
thank you very much
[Applause]
well turn that career hook I haven’t had
a hug fantastic thank you listen you
know when you just for when you’re
talking about that kind of immediate
response one thing I know that when I
walk into room people notice I’m female
they also think I look a bit like
Beyonce I’m sure then you get the frame
and they notice that I’m maybe you know
I’m brown but they notice that I’ve got
a bit of a Midlands accent which clearly
means I own a whip it and I’m from the
north but on out what I’ve worked out is
that I I used to get very anxious about
that and one website I can’t be
everybody’s assumption so I’ll just do
me and then I’ll get on with that but
what I’m aware of is that that goes
against what people assume and then
there sometimes get a bit of a problem
where they’re thinking something and I’m
being a different way how do you cope
with that how do you cope with people
making these assumptions and you know
how do you kind of overcome them in
relationships well first of all I don’t
let it get to me because you know I am a
woman I am a Muslim I am an Arab there
are some you know difficulties I
experienced in my life and I’ve
experienced ever since I was a kid but I
don’t first thing that you have to know
is don’t let these things get to you
because whatever the meanness is about
you will never betray how we really are
yeah and you know you talked about at
airports that really kind of stuck with
me because I you know I take for granted
that I can just walk I’m just getting a
plane and fly where I like I can just
get on and walk through and get back and
come off it’s not the same experience
for some people and there’s things about
you that you know make people’s eye sore
do you get that anywhere else is that
just airports or is that something
that’s in your daily life it’s
definitely my daily life but once again
I don’t let it affect me as much because
I know there are much more than just you
know people’s views and that’s why I
asked everyone to to don’t just don’t
look into what the media says because
you know talk to someone from the
community don’t take notes from the
media because they love to twist things
around about Muslims about black people
about gays or any oppressed minorities
they love to make us seem bad in a way
yeah just don’t take notes so I think we
should all just hang out with you
and then we can say well my friend Maria
says thank you for inspiring
you’ve been courageous and thank you for
being awesome Maria you’re a star Maria
everybody
[Applause]
Please follow and like us: