Media laden…
Hello everyone,
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending the opening of Refugee Welcome Week. It’s amazing that they put this program together—especially since it is all done and organized by volunteers.
RWW is a week of solidarity rooted in radical hope, resilience, and social justice.
From June 16–22, RWW invites communities across the Netherlands to come together through events, workshops, art, music, food, and storytelling, centering refugees and migrants as active contributors to society.
In this space, we embrace hope not as passive optimism but as an act of defiance against systems of oppression, challenging exclusionary policies and imagining a future where all belong.
If you have the time, I would highly recommend attending one or more of their events.
As mentioned above, I attended the opening yesterday. All the people were super nice, the food was amazing, and the entire evening was full of inspiration.
all the speakers and performances were nice, but I especially liked the keynote by Jerry King Luther Afriyie.
Specifically, he talked about the plan of our former government to take away the Dutch nationality from people with dual citizenship if they committed a crime. And that to a part of the Dutch population—and our current government—any person of color is a refugee.
That really resonates with me. I’ve had this feeling in the back of my mind for most of my life, but it really came to the forefront after what happened around Ajax Maccabi. The witch hunt on Muslims and people with a Moroccan background was really scary, as was the aftermath. They are basically planning to make people with dual nationality second-class citizens.
It makes you realize how fragile a national identity can really be—how fragile our sense of safety can be, and the freedoms we currently enjoy.
These may all seem like negative things, but they really aren’t. If you realize how fragile your current privileges are, you can appreciate them even more—and be determined to fight for them and for those who currently don’t have them, no matter what.
If you accept that some people will never accept you for who you are, you can also let it go and stop fighting who you are. Instead of fighting yourself and trying to change yourself for people who will probably never truly acknowledge you, you can take strength from your personality and your background. You can focus on the people who love and support you, instead of those who reject your existence based on factors you have absolutely no control over.
We always talk about people needing to integrate—but into what, exactly?
I was born and raised here. I started from special education, went to regular high school, and entered university. I fight for minority rights and for what I believe is right.
But for some people, I will always only be that Moroccan person, or that blind person with a disability. A box—someone else’s idea of a concept, not a person.
So then, do I need to integrate even more only because my family is Moroccan? Or is it they who might need to do some self-reflection?
Anyway, getting back on track. If you can accept and take pride in who you are, and accept and love the community around you, you can use that foundation to fight for change. Keep the fire lit, and radical hope alive and thriving.
Jerry also mentioned something else that really resonates with me. He said that we need to claim our seat at the table, instead of waiting for someone else to give us one.
That has always been my philosophy as well. If you’re waiting for someone else to give you a seat at the table, you can wait a very long time. Even if someone gives you a seat, it will be on their terms. That means you can never truly speak freely—you’re bound by the conditions that person or organization sets.
As such, if you really want to have an equitable seat at the table, you need to claim it and fight for it. Otherwise, people will simply take away your seat when it’s no longer convenient for them to have your voice at the table.
Thanks a lot, RWW, for organizing—you’re doing an amazing job.
I was also really appreciative that they welcome and value feedback. I mentioned that it would be great to have a contact point or number for accessibility-related questions—for example, audio description at the visual elements, or people to run with during interval training.
And they were really open to the idea. They also thanked me for the suggestions and for bringing their attention to something they hadn’t thought of yet.
Sadly, that reaction is really rare. A lot of organizations get defensive or simply acknowledge it’s a problem when I mention it, but shrug their shoulders and move on without acting on it.
So a big thank you to RWW—big shout-out to you—for the program and amazing community.
This really gave me positive energy, and I always welcome and appreciate positivity.
Check their events if you have time this week, and otherwise keep an eye on their socials for next year’s edition.
That’s it from me.
Yours,
Ihab