Missy Gluckmann, Founder of Melibee Global and Arnd Wachter, Founder of Crossing Borders Education
I had the pleasure of participating in a radio interview with Arnd Wächter (Crossing Borders Film) and Dr. David Owusu-Ansah (Professor of African Studies, James Madison University) on Tom Graham’s “Virginia Insight” show on WMRA.
You can listen to the recording here.
(If you would like to consider Arnd Wächter for a film screening or speaking event, please click here.)
Today marks the start of the House’s Homeland Security Committee’s “hearings” intended to investigate the radicalization of Muslim-Americans. Representative Keith Ellison, the US’s first Muslim American elected to Congress, wept today as he shared the story of Mohammed Salman Habdani, a young Muslim-American who died at the World Trade Center on 9/11. I wept along:
Ellison said, “Ascribing the evil acts of a few individuals to an entire community is wrong; it is ineffective; and it risks making our country less secure.” I could not agree more. He went on to say, “Throughout human history, individuals from all communities and faiths have used religion and political ideology to justify violence. Let’s think about the KKK, America’s oldest terrorist organization; the Oklahoma City bombing; the shooting at the Holocaust Museum by James von Brunn; and bombings at Planned Parenthood clinics. Did Congress focus on the ethnic group and religion of these agents of violence as a matter of public policy? The answer is no.” (Ellison’s entire speech can be read here.)
When this happens, this is the outcome – fearful people directing their misinformation and anger toward the WRONG people, such as CHILDREN and legal citizens who have been born and raised in this country, who have done nothing wrong. And lets be really clear here – it is NOT ok to call children TERRORISTS. Take a moment to watch this recent horrific “protest” of Muslim Americans in California. If you cannot watch the entire thing, I understand. It is sickening:
How can we combat this hatred in our country and this need by many to create a culture of fear?
1) reach out to your Muslim friends, neighbors and colleagues. Tell them you support them.
2) reach out to your faith community and ask them to facilitate interfaith dialogue opportunities and to share a message of support with the local mosque(s).
3) reach out to your schools. Ask them to address this issue by developing programming that will challenge the message of fear and hatred.
4) visit a local mosque. Ask to have a same gender member show you around the mosque. (If you are a woman, be sure to bring a scarf to cover your hair and to wear pants or a skirt that reach the floor, and cover your arms. This is a sign of respect in that faith.)
5) write to your local government and ask for their support in educating the community about every day Islam in the US.
6) Melibee offers a couple of different presentations by Muslim speakers. Contact me for more information at info@melibeeglobal.com if interested.
7) Attend the April 4th screening of the film “Crossing Borders” and participate in the follow up panel discussion afterward. (Here is more information – and I’ll be there so be sure to say hello!)
Mark your calendar! On Monday, April 4th, 2011 from 5 – 8 pm, the International Beliefs and Values Institute (IBAVI) and the Spencer Center for Civic and Global Engagement will be presenting “Islam and the West Clashing Beliefs or Common Values?” in the Francis Auditorium at Mary Baldwin College (Staunton, Virginia, USA). I am humbled to be part of the panel discussion after the screening of “Crossing Borders”, along with Nihad Awad (Executive Director and co-founder of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Dr. David Owusu-Ansah, Professor of African Studies at James Madison University and Arnd Wächter, Director of the film “Crossing Borders.”
Many thanks to Nusayba Hammad, Mary Baldwin College class of 2013, for writing up this excellent description of the event:
“Islam and the West: Clashing Beliefs or Common Values?” seeks to deconstruct both the Middle East’s and America’s conceptions of the “Other” by finding common ground to stand on. Samuel Huntington’s theory of the clash of civilizations has dominated our perceptions of the other side of the world, but we must ask ourselves, is it with good reason? Crossing Borders uses the shared experiences of four American and four Moroccan students to bridge the supposedly vast gap between the Muslim world and the West. During their journey through Morocco, these students find that they are not so different after all.
In this age of globalization, understanding the commonalities and differences between Islam and the West is crucial. World politics, and especially the United States’ role in the Middle East, are proving to be increasingly portrayed as “us (the West) versus them (the Middle East/Islam).” But is it fair to pit Islam and the West against each other, implying that they are incapable of coexistence? Delving into the archives of American history, we find this not to be the case. For instance, Morocco was the first nation to recognize the newly formed United States of America, and the two countries have had bilateral relations ever since. The first Muslims to arrive to America did so in the 17th century, against their will and on slave ships from Africa. There are accounts of Muslims serving in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, and today, there are over 10 million Muslims in the U.S. Islam is not detached and separate from America, and Muslims are not outsiders but an integral part of our society and nation.
History therefore begs a question: Is the perceived conflict between Islam and the West one that can be traced back to irreconcilable differences found in the essence of each, or is it simply the result of the way in which world politics have played out in the last century?
Crossing Borders will be introduced by Arnd Wächter, the film’s director. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with Nihad Awad, Dr. David Owusu-Ansah, and Missy Gluckmann. Each will share his or her perspective on the issues presented in the film, framed by unique experiences and expertise in the field.
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Today’s guest post is written by Arnd Wächter from Crossing Borders Education. Arnd writes about the transformative power of international experiences and he offers a glimpse into his personal experience on the subject. Arnd is one of the most fascinating people that I’ve met on this international education journey; we have talked for hours about how meeting people from other parts of the world and hearing different perspectives have shaped us. Arnd has not only become a friend to me and my family, but is also a part of Melibee Global’s international speakers series. He can be booked to present his film, Crossing Borders, and is scheduled to be in the US from mid-March through mid-April 2011, so reach out if you are interested. (His film is also available for screening in other parts of the world.)
As an educator, I believe that intercultural experiences have an important role to play in a world situation that is – to say the least – very confusing. This year, 2011, marks a decade since the tragic events of September 11. Today’s undergraduate college students were eight to twelve years old in 2001 and consequently have spent their intellectually formative years with post-9/11 media coverage, little of which addressed the need for intercultural understanding. I believe that we have the demanding opportunity to support this generation of students and future leaders to deeper understand the major challenges of cross-cultural conflicts and to develop the capabilities, commitment and grit to address them.
Personal experiences that are transformative are often the driving force behind the passions in our lives. I would love to share a glimpse of mine. I was born in communist East Germany and grew up next to the Berlin Wall. Sometimes my brother and I climbed trees to see boats going by on the river on the other side of the wall. We watched people having barbecue in their gardens but were never able to go there. I was 19 years old when the wall came tumbling down. At that time and in the following years, I experienced drastically in my own story the reality of the Anais Nin’s statement: “We see the world not as it is, but as we are.”
When traveling the world, I realized with amazement how much my images of history, countries and current affairs have been shaped by the context I had lived in. Intercultural experiences became one of the key teachers for my personal development and for learning about other cultures and people. My fascination grew about the process of what happens to our perception and awareness when we enter another culture with appreciation and open senses. I sensed that the world can look entirely different from a different cultural perspective when I am engaging openly in deep dialogue with people of other cultures. And I realized in these conversations that I am learning as much about the “Other” as I am learning about myself.
In the following years, I became passionate about intercultural immersion experiences and backpacked on tiny budgets across the world – often choosing solo trips in order to intensify the intercultural impact. These personal travel experiences became the vibrant background for my passion to create cross-cultural immersion programs, activities and films, which encourage, support and challenge university students to cross borders internally and externally. I would love to share a few of my observations on these activities:
Student Experiences on the Morocco Exchange programs of our organization triggered often very different responses of American students when they stayed at Moroccan family homes and interacted personally with Moroccan students. American students from a more liberal background were often surprised about the positive experiences they had. Some of them identified themselves as being very literate with critical thinking skills and were then surprised finding out how much they had been affected by images of Muslims in the US media.
Conservative students who traveled with us often had to process the shock of experiencing openness, hospitality and warmth in Morocco in sharp contrast to the hostile view their entire families held of the region. I remember a student sharing with me: “My parents and grandparents are not talking to me at the moment. They are evangelical Christians and are deeply upset with me that I am visiting a Muslim country.” After a while she added with a quiet voice: “They consider this religion as evil.”
Over the past years I saw in my own story and in the story of students that experiences themselves are the best teacher to confront existing preconceptions. It is a defining and creative moment when students encounter for themselves something that is in contrast to their accustomed perception, because it empowers them to discover themselves first hand and enhances critical thinking skills. It is powerful to experience hospitality in a Muslim country and then to reflect on: How come we hear so much about the reality of terrorism while hearing very little about the reality and beauty of the other culture? How come we saw post 9/11 on US media images of a small group of 10-20 Muslims celebrating, creating an image as if the entire Muslim world was celebrating? How come we saw these images repeated over and over again? How come we did not see 60,000 Iranians holding a Peace Vigil for the victims of 9/11? How come we did not see the images of over 1 million Moroccans demonstrating against the use of violence in the name of their faith after the bombing in Casablanca in which no American was hurt?
These are moments in which I have a lot of compassion with my students. I remember how much inner work it was after the Communist system imploded to come to terms with my entire education being incomplete or a distorted image. To change such perception does not happen in one conversation it needs eye opening experiences and time to reflect and process.
What I truly love about American students is the quality to get emotionally involved and care about issues and people. I noticed that most students who traveled with us knew very little about the region. I also experienced that the majority really cared from the moment they connected to a person or an issue on a personal level. It is a quality I deeply appreciate in the American culture.
The Educators Role: My experience is that most of the time we do not need to tell students what to think or do. We only need to encourage and support them to step into experiences that are challenging and widening. I experienced many times that the goodness within students takes over and makes them choose their next chapters of learning themselves by going into volunteer work, study abroad or long term services such as the Peace Corps. I experienced that students can discover their passion and task in this world where they are connected to their own power. So I would like to close with a quote that I love sharing with students when they ask “So what can I do?”, a quote which became key to my personal process of growing ideas and visions into creative realities.
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs.
Ask yourself what makes you come alive
and then go and do that.
Because what the world needs
is people who have come alive.”
H. T. Whitman
About the Author: Arnd received his school education in Communist East Germany. As a conscientious objector to military service, he was not allowed to study at university and became a carpenter. After the fall of the Berlin Wall he started to travel the world beyond Eastern Europe and was able to study abroad in London. There he completed his MA in Religious Studies and Post Graduate Certificate of Education. Since 1996 he has worked and lived in the UK, Japan, Australia, the US, Spain and Morocco and traveled extensively on six continents. The impact these journeys had on him personally made him aware of the transformative power of cross-cultural interactions. Being on a visit to Morocco during the build-up to the US intervention in Iraq, he was deeply moved by personal conversations with Moroccans. This inspired him to create an educational NGO that by now has taken over 3600 American students on programs to interact with Moroccan families, students, professors, Peace Corps volunteers, and Fulbright scholars on a personal level. In 2007-2009 he produced and directed the feature documentary “Crossing Borders”as a cross cultural tool to initiate dialogue between students in the Western and Muslim worlds. The film was selected at 12 international film festivals and won several awards.
I’m delighted to share that Arnd Wächter will be screening his award winning documentary, Crossing Borders, at several NAFSA regional conferences this fall. There will also be a scholarship fundraiser in Washington DC.
Here is the 3 minute trailer:
If you would like more information about Arnd and this film, please see these postings:
An Update on Crossing Borders Film
Interview with Arnd Wächter, Director/Producer of Crossing Borders Film
Introduction to Crossing Borders Film (original post)
Here is the schedule, so mark your calendar:
* October 26, 2010 at 2 pm: Screening of the film at NAFSA Region 3 in New Orleans.
* October 26, 2010 at 4 pm: Presentation about using film in international education at NAFSA Region 3 in New Orleans.
* November 4, 2010 at 6:30 pm: Screening of the film at NAFSA Region 5 in Detroit.
* November 7, 2010 at 5 pm: Screening of the film at 5 pm at NAFSA Region 10 in New Brunswick. Please note that this is the day of pre-conference workshops, so if you want to see the free screening and meet Arnd, you should plan to arrive a bit early if you are not attending a pre-conference workshop. (Trust me, the film is spectacular and Arnd’s story about the making of the film and what was happening behind the scenes are well worth arriving a day early!)
* November 9, 2010 at 6 pm: Special Screening to raise scholarship funds for FEA. Reception at 6 pm, screening at 7 pm. at George Washington University, DC.
* November 10, 2010 at 6 pm: Screening of the film at NAFSA Region 11 in Providence.
* November 11, 2010 at 3:45 pm: Screening of the film at NAFSA Region 8 in Richmond.
* November 12, 2010 at 9 am: Presentation about using film in international education at NAFSA Region 8 in Richmond.
If you’d like to book a screening on your campus or in your community, here is more information on how to do so!
Map of Morocco
3 contestants from "Afghan Star"
I had a fascinating conversation yesterday with Arnd Wachter, Director/Producer of the film “Crossing Borders” via Skype. We spoke about the power of film and how it can be used in the classroom as a tool to allow students, whether or not they study abroad, to get a flavor for another country, culture, language, and to open up hours and hours of dialogue about their stereotypes of others.
I recently discovered a new film to add to the “must see” list of documentaries that must be added to your toolbox! “Afghan Star” is the story of a national, televised singing competition to search for the latest singing sensation, the next pop star in Afghanistan (think along the lines of “American Idol”.) This is certainly a topic your students can relate to! Many young people in the US have not voted in a Presidential election, but can tell you how many times they voted for Adam Lambert in the US version of this competition. The TV show “Afghan Star” is so popular in Afghanistan that more than 1/3 of the entire country watched the finale. Here is the film’s trailer:
“Afghan Star” won 2 major awards at the 2009 Sundance film festival. The film’s director, Havana Marking, focuses on 4 finalists in the competition – Setara, Rafi, Lema and Hameed. By doing so, we get a glimpse of what drives each individual to compete and what winning would mean. We hear the stories of life under the Taliban and how they were not permitted to watch television, sing or dance until the ban was lifted in 2004. We see examples of how women have lost much of their individual freedom. Participants represent many different ethnic groups in Afghanistan (Pashtuns, Hazaras, Tajiks, etc). Witnessing contestants support each other in ways that they might not have done in their daily lives quickly illustrates how much more this pop culture show means in Afghanistan.
There are many directions that classroom discussion can go once this film is viewed. Two of the four main characters, Setara and Lema, are women; This puts them at risk for even participating in such a show. Dancing is not permitted in this culture, and Satara pushes the boundaries of this rule in an effort to follow her desire to self express. This is one of the most difficult parts of this film for Westerners – observing the society’s reaction to a woman’s desire to dance while she sings. It is a topic that can fill a semester of dialogue in gender studies, religious studies, sociology and history courses. Students can explore their impressions of Afghanistan’s attempts to find peace after decades of war. The TV station that produces “Afghan Star” is a topic of focus for media students. How does this TV station (Tolo) deal with the direction given by the government and how does that differ from what happens at home? What are the challenges of texting in votes in a war torn country? What might youth experience by voting – which is possibly their first act of democracy in their young lives? There is much to discuss!
Singing and freedom have been documented in the shaping of countries in the past. For example, you may have seen the documentary about the non-violent Singing Revolution in Estonia (another excellent film.) Estonia’s ability to sing to share a message of nationalism and unity somehow prevented very tense situations with the Russians from turning violent. For Afghanistan, singing is also sign of freedom. “Afghan Star” shows us the power of singing, the media, youth and a country’s desire to move forward after a very painful history.
Use this film in your classroom. For students who watch American Idol, this film about Afghanistan’s counterpart will provide a springboard into current events in Afghanistan. Getting a taste of these four characters makes you want to know more about them and their homeland. And it forces you reflect on how incredibly brave and ready they are to challenge the status quo by joining this competition.
Oh, and did I mention that the music is fabulous? 
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In these challenging times, Crossing Borders continues to be a film that I consider a “must see.” Crossing Borders documents four American study abroad students who visit Morocco to meet four local students. This film magically creates the opportunity for viewers to discuss how we perceive others who are different, giving us a framework to examine how young people work through some tense conversations and long standing stereotypes. We live in a world that increasingly rushes to equate Muslim with “terrorist” and this film addresses Islamophobia head on.
The film’s Director, Arnd Wächter, has asked me to share the following information with Melibee Global readers:
* Crossing Borders will be screened at several regional NAFSA (Association of International Education) conferences this fall. In addition, it may be screened online, for free, through October 10th at vimeo. Simply click here and then enter the password “mutear 2010″ (do not include the quotes).
* The Crossing Borders Film website has been updated. Please share it with anyone who may be interested!
* Crossing Borders recently won “Best Documentary” at the Los Angeles Global Film Festival. (Congrats Arnd!)
* Educational Screenings are available! ”Crossing Borders” is the key tool for the “Intercultural Awareness Initiative” - Crossing Borders Education has partnered with organizations (such as Search for Common Ground, Institute of Economics and Peace, Soliya/UNAoC, etc.) in order to create powerful intercultural events at campuses across the US. Educators are invited to utilize a screening of “Crossing Borders” as a transformative intercultural campus event. It is a PERFECT event for November’s International Education Week. These screening events aim to deepen intercultural awareness at campuses and inspire cross-cultural empathy in a post-9/11 world. (The 3 minute film trailer can be viewed at www.crossingbordersfilm.org.) If you are interested in a screening of Crossing Borders, please visit the website and contact Arnd and his team at: info@cb-education.org.
My previous post was about the journey of Aman Ali and Bassam Tariq from the 30mosques.com project. In my opinion, having a screening of Crossing Borders and then having Aman and Bassam speak on your campus (or in your community) is an ideal way to set the stage for authentic dialogue about the increasing anger that is being directed toward the Muslim community. Aman and Bassam have seen Arnd’s film – they watched it in the car on the long stretches between cities on the 30 mosques.com roadtrip during Ramadan, and they believe in the film’s potential for increasing interfaith dialogue that we are so anxiously in need of in the US.
Feel free to contact me if I can help to facilitate any opportunity for dialogue about this important issue on your campus or in your community. I am in touch with Arnd, Aman and Bassam regularly and promise to do my best to bring these educational tools to your students and community. Why is this important? Perhaps Rodney King said it best when he tried to calm the city of Los Angeles down during the riots: “Can we all get along? Can we stop making it, making it horrible for the older people and the kids?…It’s just not right. It’s not right. Please, we can get along here. We all can get along. I mean, we’re all stuck here for a while. Let’s try to work it out. Let’s try to beat it. Let’s try to beat it. Let’s try to work it out.”
Frankly, I believe we have no other choice!
Missy Gluckmann, Founder of Melibee Global with Arnd Wächter, Founder of Crossing Borders Education
I had the pleasure of crossing paths with Arnd Wächter while at a recent meeting at the Institute of International Education. You may recall that I had arranged for Arnd to screen his film, “Crossing Borders“, in early April at Western Connecticut State University (WCSU). While in the U.S., Arnd traveled to Washington DC for several meetings to discuss the film with organizations and schools.
His meeting at IIE, on his final day in the U.S., conveniently coincided with a training that I was attending. I managed to steal him for a few minutes to hear more about his vision for Crossing Borders. I was particularly inspired to do so after seeing the response of students at WCSU. Several students who attended the screening wrote “extra credit” papers for one of the Political Science classes. The professor of the course felt it was important to share them with me as the students commented very candidly on their own stereotypes of the Muslim world. One wrote about how ashamed he felt after seeing this film because he realized that he made assumptions about these people without any facts.
As you have read in my other postings, “Crossing Borders” is a must see film. To learn more about the film and Arnd Wächter, please enjoy this 10 minute interview (and many thanks to Digital Strategy Works for shooting and editing this interview on such short notice)
Arnd Wachter, Producer of the documentary "Crossing Borders"
Back in November 2009, I wrote about a documentary that I saw at the NAFSA Region X conference. The film, “Crossing Borders,” was so very powerful that I swore that I would bring it to the community – and I am pleased to be able to invite you to the free screening at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, Connecticut (USA) on Tuesday, April 6th at 6 pm.
The film’s Producer, Arnd Wachter, will participate in a question and answer period after the film along with WCSU Dr. Robert Whittemore and Dr. Damla Isik, both from WCSU’s Anthropology Department.
Wachter is the Founder and Managing Director of Crossing Borders Education. He completed his MA and Post-Graduate Certificate in Education at London University. He has over twelve years experience of living abroad, and has taught Cross Cultural Education, World Religions and German for the past nine years in the UK, Japan, New Zealand and Spain. Wachter’s fascination for foreign cultures and for the transformative power of journeys have led him to explore a wide range of travel destinations on six continents. In 2008/9 he produced the documentary “Crossing Borders.”
This screening of “Crossing Borders” is free and is open to the public. The midtown campus of WCSU is located at 181 White Street. You can park in the large garage (also free) on White Street. The film will screen in the Science Building Theater, Room 125. This map will be of assistance – and note that the walk from the parking garage to the science building is just a few minutes.
I hope to see you there!
This posting must begin with the recognition that the Yankees were playing last night (and ultimately won) the World Series last night. Now keep in mind, that I do realize that it is incredibly ethnocentric for the US to call the North American baseball series a “World Event”. However, I was born and raised in NY and have not missed a World Series Yankee game in my life. So last night, while at the NAFSA conference, I debated whether to slip away from the TV to watch a 72 minute documentary about 4 Moroccan and 4 American students who spend a week traveling together. Boy am I glad that I did.
The film “Crossing Borders” by Arnd Wachter is POWERFUL. I cried and I laughed. It moved me to my core and reminded me why I usually cannot believe that someone pays me to create opportunities for dialogue across cultures, for better understanding across people and nations, and for the joy of watching students see the world through different lenses. As my friend and colleague James Leck, from Boston University, often says, ”international educators are the quiet revolutionaries.” This film reminds me that there is nothing more true or important than the work that we do.
“Crossing Borders” is a documentary that follows 4 Moroccan and 4 American University students as they travel together in Morocco and in the process of discovering “The Other”, they discover themselves. This film is the brainchild of Director Arnd Wachter, who was raised in East Germany. It was his response to the events of 9/11 and the Iraq war – when we all asked ourselves the impossible question – how can I deal with living in a world with such violence and hatred? What can I do to change this? How can I make sure that I am not sitting by silently?
One of the challenges of being in international education is you often don’t get to experience, first hand, those “a-ha” moments that the students experience when they are in their host country. We know that they are happening, constantly, but we usually hear about them when they return, or if we’re lucky, via an email or skype conversation. What is remarkable about this film is that we witness 8 young people from 2 markedly different cultures experience those “a-ha” moments about each other as if we are sitting side by side with them. They bravely address 9/11, the media, stereotypes, dignity and respect, wealth and poverty, religion, their commonalities, ignorance, loneliness, family and so much more in such an incredibly honest and humorous way. Wachter does a magnificent job of representing the Moroccan culture. The transitions he uses between scenes, editing of 70 hours to a mere 72 minutes while effectively getting the message to the viewer, along with the quotes that he strategically places throughout the film, are nothing short of masterful.
That Wachter is anxious to bring the film to campuses around the world is particularly exciting. This film will be a very effective tool to create dialogue about religions and how they can better understand each other and create opportunities to dispell myths and work together. Wachter will provide materials about intercultural tension prior to each campus screening, will present the film and answer questions and will assist in the facilitation of dialogue about religion and culture. I cannot think of a more appropriate time in our history to advocate for this film to be seen.
After the screening, while wiping away tears, I thanked Wachter for his deeply meaningful, witty and educational film. I did not regret missing the final game of the World Series – as I watched something much more genious than Matsui’s 6 RBIs! Needless to say, I committed to spreading the word about this film. My hope is that you will do your part in helping to educate others about the opportunity to experience how these youth, with nothing but 7 days to spend together, were able to break down the supposed “clash of civilizations” between Islam and the West.
Please enjoy the trailer of the film and I look forward to your comments:
http://crossingbordersfilm.org/
