Structures and Me

Student Learning Outcome: 2- Sense of Context

Introduced: EDF 6890 School & Community

Description of Artifact: The structures and me essay asks us to think back to the communities that we were or are a part of. For me, I feel connected to the three following communities and they all tie in together: Bosnia & Herzegovina, St. Louis, and Xinjiang, China.

Artifact Alignment: Who we are an where we come from all influence our role in serving others. I am blessed enough to be a part of minorities (Bosnian, Muslim, Refugee) because with those communities in heart, I know I will bring something special into the classroom.

Future Goal: Since this essay showed me the impact communities have on people, I hope I can create a classroom community where children feel empowered and respected to grow as much in their academic careers as well as their personality and who they are as people.

Sense of Context Reflection: Through completing the artifacts in this section, I have learned many things about my own self as a student. I have been able to assess the struggles and issues I dealt with as an elementary student and it has helped me solidify who I will be as a future teacher. Serving others in my classroom and in my community will be the core of everything I do as a teacher. I want to reach the students who are begging to be heard, and I want to be their voice as they find their way through this rough world. I will serve my students in every way possible, encouraging them to be the best version of themselves, to be vocal citizens who advocate for themselves and others, and to immerse themselves in knowledge that I provide.

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I believe that wherever you are placed in life is exactly where you are meant to be. Unfortunately, some people aren't given the choice to decide where they are placed. Some are pushed out of their homes, some labeled by society, and some even have their freedom ripped from their very hands. The schools and communities that we have experienced all have histories of race, ethnicity, religion, and other forms of differences. This history is the key factor in what and who decides where you are placed in this world. I myself am placed in Saint Louis, Missouri in the United States of America, but my heart is tugged in many places around the world: Saint Louis, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Xinjiang, China. 

As my parents became newly married they were ready to start their lives together in the beautiful Bosnia and Herzegovina, and together with their families they celebrated the country's independence from Yugoslavia. After World War II, Yugoslavia was made up of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia and Macedonia. Bosnia fought for independence and became their own country in April of 1992, but that did not sit well with Serbia and their armed forces. Shortly after in early May of 1992, Serbian Forces backed by the Yugoslovian Army launched their bombs on Bosnia’s capital, Sarajevo. By 1995, 80% of Bosnjaks tallied dead, including my mother's dad and brother (Bosnian Genocide). My parents fairy tale love story had quickly turned into a horror movies filled with cold blooded killers, mass murdering, raping, and abusing the people of their home, Bosnia. 

Many people ask me, “but why was there an ethical cleansing in the county of Bosnia?” and the answer is simple: The majority of Bosnia identified as Muslim and they wanted to seize the land that our roots were deeply placed in. “In Bosnia, Muslims represented the largest single population group by 1971” (Bosnian Genocide). The hate for someone's skin color, religion, morals, and beliefs was not only common in the US, like we have listened and talked about through podcasts and articles. Hatred is found in all countries and in Yugoslavia, Muslims were not respected nor wanted. The issues with privilege and power were strong when the Serbian Army took the lives of over 100,000 Bosnian Muslims. There are many factors that come into play as to why the Bosnian war happened, but what it ended in was a broken country with its people escaping for freedom.

As my parents and their newborn child ran for safety, they were given the opportunity to be placed in the Netherlands until further notice. Here, my mom was in a large camp with her son and my dad was hundreds of miles away in Germany. The Netherlands is my birth place and I never got to learn much about the place, but from what my mother said, the people who cared for her and my family lifelines. My parents got the opportunity to settle in the United States where they could start a new life and give their children better opportunities that were not available in Bosnia. 

I was only 9 months old when my family came to the United States. I grew up here, learned the language through cartoon shows and movies, and spent my K-12 education in the Mehlville School District. Growing up, I never knew the history of why I was in America or what happened in my homeland. When I reached an age of understanding, my parents slowly started to help me grasp the concept of the genocide that they lived through. They made sure that I knew the horrific history that ripped apart their home land took the life of over 100,000 people. When we would visit Bosnia every few years, the long 18-hour journey was filled with many emotions: sadness, joy, regret, and concern. When we would finally land on the ground of Bosnia and step out into the smell of the crisp, clean air, tears would fill my parents eyes. As we would drive through the villages, on top of the mountains, and past the enormous waterfalls, my parents would tell me stories of their past life here and even war stories that would send shivers down my spine. To think that because my mother was a Bosnian Muslim, her newborn son could have been ripped from her arms and murdered in front of her eyes, and although it did not happen to her, it was the story of thousands in Bosnia at the time. Coming here, my family had high hopes of living in “the land of the free.” They were thankful to be able to practice their religion and culture in a place that would allow it. Little did they know the hatred for Muslims would follow them, starting two years later on September 11, 2001. 

When 9/11 had occurred, the lives of Muslims in the United States were forever changed by the label “terrorist” as Islamophobia took a grip on Western societies. Islamophobia is identified as, “An exaggerated fear, hatred, and hostility toward Islam and Muslims that is perpetuated by negative stereotypes resulting in bias, discrimination, and the marginalization and exclusion of Muslims from social, political, and civic life” (Gallup). The biases and discrimination that Muslims receive from a day to day basis are that we are terrorists, women are oppressed in Islam, and we are dangerous to society because our hair is covered by a piece of cloth. “In the aftermath of 9/11, the US Government has increasingly implemented special programs with hopes of “curbing and countering terrorism” and “enemy combatants.” Although it is not explicitly stated in the official documents, these policies, such as the USA Patriot Act and the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System, or Special Registration program, have been targeted towards and thus disproportionately affected Arabs, South Asians and Muslims in America” (Kampf). This is the time that, yet again, my family became a target. 

As a Muslim and a woman who wears hijab, I wear my religion on my head for the world to see. Each time I step out of the door, its as if I have a massive sign on my head that says “Hey, I’m Muslim!” and that is something that some are afraid of. I understand the feeling my Black friends have when they walk on the street, or into a store, or around the mall. That feeling of all eyes being on you is uneasy and difficult to explain. You feel as though one wrong movement and you're done. Because I share that feeling with my fellow Black and Latino/Latinas in society, I respect them for their strength more and more each day. This respect is what feeds me to continue to fight for what is right for anybody, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, and identity. 

Around the same time as the Black Lives Matter Movement took full force this year, social media was flooded with images and stories of the Muslims being held in concentration camps in Xinjiang, China since 2017. As if my heart wasn’t poured into the struggles of my families history in Bosnia and being a visible Muslim in the US, I felt the call to speak up about my brothers and sisters in Xinjiang. China's government has been arresting and capturing Turkish Muslims all over the country and sending them to concentration camps. Here, “two million Muslims (are being) detained without trial by China’s government over the past three years, in what has been described as the largest mass incarceration of an ethnic group since the Holocaust” (Taddonio). At these concentration camps, Muslims are forced to work for no pay, forced to stop pracitcing Islam because it is classified as a “mental illness” to be Muslim, and are being abused. These camps also make the Muslim prisoners, “memorise and recite Communist Party songs, forced into gruelling work, enroll in Mandarin language courses and comprehensive trainings devised to extract their religion and culture from out of them” (Beydoun). We often say that we cannot let histroy repeat itself, but the Jewish Holocaust is being replicated right in front of our eyes, and we are not doing anything about it. Our schools aren't talking about what happened to Muslims in Bosnia, how Muslims are targeted and attacked since 9/11, or the current mass concentration camps in Xinjiang. Those are my communities, and I hope that as a future educator I can educate my students about the struggles in my community, Black, Latino, Jew, LGBTQ, Indigenous and all other communities that are labeled as a “minority”.

Just because we are a minority, doesn't mean that we can ignore the horrific history that our ancestors lived through. We must talk about this, especially with our younger children. We have the ability to shape their minds to be understanding, respectful, and for them to create a community where all are understood, loved, and respected one another.

Sources:

Beydoun, K. A. (2018, September 13). China holds one million Uighur Muslims in concentration camps. Retrieved September 16, 2020, from https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/china-holds-million-uighur-muslims-concentration-camps-180912105738481.html

Bosnian Genocide. (2009, October 14). Retrieved September 16, 2020, from https://www.history.com/topics/1990s/bosnian-genocide

Gallup: Islamophobia: Understanding Anti-Muslim Sentiment in the West. (2020, June 08). Retrieved September 16, 2020, from https://news.gallup.com/poll/157082/islamophobia-understanding-anti-muslim-sentiment-west.aspx

Kampf, L., Sen, I. (n.d.). History Does Not Repeat Itself, But Ignorance Does: Post-9/11 Treatment of Muslims and the Liberty-Security Dilemma. Retrieved September 16, 2020, from https://www.humanityinaction.org/knowledge_detail/history-does-not-repeat-itself-but-ignorance-does-post-9-11-treatment-of-muslims-and-the-liberty-security-dilemma/

Taddonio, P. (2020, April 7). Muslims Held in China's Detention Camps Speak Out. Retrieved September 16, 2020, from https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/muslims-held-in-chinas-detention-camps-speak-out/