The participants in the program “With Dialogue We Stay and Rise,” implemented by the Masarat Foundation in partnership with the House of Coexistence and KASID, experienced an Iraqi day with a Baghdad family. The educator Mrs. Nabihah Al-Muhasini welcomed the participants into her home and shared details of her day between home, work, and hobbies.
Baghdad Details
The campers exchanged memories and knowledge with the family about the details of Baghdad homes and relationships with neighbors. They discussed the commonalities between Iraqi homes in the north and south, starting from the kitchen to family gatherings, neighborly rights, and cooperation and sharing in joys and sorrows, regardless of religion, ethnicity, color, or sect, which Iraqis still uphold.
Dialogue and Diversity Management
The campers engaged in an in-depth dialogue about ethnic diversity in Baghdad, its history, future, mechanisms for protecting it from extinction, the reasons for minority migration, and the importance of managing diversity as a source of richness for the country.
They learned about Mrs. Nabihah’s experiences in managing diversity in the schools where she worked in both the public and private sectors, and how to deal with ethnic diversity among female students in school and face the challenges she encountered.
During the discussion, the participants learned that Mrs. Nabihah is the sister of pilot Ahmed Thuwaini, the commander of the first plane that delivered aid to the displaced during the genocide on Mount Sinjar in 2014.
The campers expressed their gratitude, appreciation, and pride in the heroics of pilot Thuwaini and all members of the armed forces in various branches, and their pride in the sacrifices made during the liberation battles.
Baghdadi Lunch
At lunchtime, Mrs. Nabihah generously served a Baghdadi meal that included various dishes from the Baghdadi kitchen, such as masgouf, okra, and qaysi, along with different types of desserts, pastries, and salads.
Amid the sounds of pouring Baghdad tea, Ms. Mahasen addressed the positive aspects of ethnic and geographic diversity that reflect on Iraqi cuisine, emphasizing that religious, national, and sectarian diversity produces a positive variety in all aspects of our lives if we approach it positively, accept others, and engage in dialogue to understand them and introduce them to ourselves, rather than to change them or distance them from their beliefs.
A rock from Sinjar
At the conclusion of the meeting, the participants from the youth of Sinjar presented a rock from #Mount_Sinjar to the educator Ms. Nabiha Mahasen as a memento of this meeting and as an expression of their pride in this mountain, which symbolizes the resilience of the Yazidi community and their attachment to the land, country, and identity.
It is worth noting that the “Bilhwar Nabqa wa Nartaqi” camp launched in Baghdad with the participation of the youth of Sinjar and was joined by the youth of Baghdad in its first phase. The campers will continue their tour in other cities of Iraq soon in a program aimed at promoting dialogue as a mechanism for building peace among #followers_of_religions.
