Paiwand Session 1 (Harrow)
On Friday we worked with the second of the three groups mainly Afghan young men, who are a lot more recent to this country and in a very different situation. We went to their special accommodation in Harrow, where six of them live together and are supported by key workers from Paiwand. They have been here for between three and eighteen months and most are waiting on a decision from above as to whether they can stay. It has taken some of them three months at least to travel from Afghanistan, from very traumatic situations, to reach the UK and within a short time period they could be sent back.
Having heard on the news that there is a policy to try to repatriate young men like them back to their home, to a country which we are helping to pull apart, I felt the edginess of their situation without being able to totally relate to it, but i tried to find a reference point. I remembered relatives who have been sent back to Iran and teenage cousins who came to live with us during the post-revolutionary days of terror (that still persist) , three of whom we adopted, and I realise now they were coming into a situation of privileges, of having an existing connection elsewhere – my mother – who cared enough to help them make the transition here. Now these cousins/siblings have families here and are ‘integrated’ into British life, like the An-nisa group are, but the Paiwand group are at the beginning of a process . As far as I know none of these young men has relatives here, but I was at least heartened to see how being together within the house, with the background of a very socially networked culture, and the support of Paiwand, that a community is created.
At the start of the session we were myself, Louise, and Peta (who is the supporting artist and an educator working for the NPG) and just three young men (I can’t seem to say boys because they are much closer to manhood than I had expected ). I speak some farsi, so felt could understand and speak a little, but was very grateful for translation!
I showed them my work, including ‘Mother Tongue’, – to make the cultural connection with rice cookers, which they would know, and relationship to heritage and ancestors through food- and introduced the idea of installation art which is always an eye opener, raises eyebrows and questions and I am curious to see what they make of ‘Dream On’ at the South bank tomorow, which we will visit in the afternoon, as well as Yinko Shonibare’s ship in a bottle on the Fourth plinth, over lunch..
After Fridays prayers the numbers increased and by the time we started weaving there were six, together with Maria, Maryam and Sami, their key workers. I asked them to choose one colour for the past , one for the present and one for the future which sums up the spirit of it, to acknowledge past experience , to be aware of the current situation and to create and look forward to a next step ahead. (I realise that in some cases this step may be back home, unwillingly…).Javad, it turns out , was weaving carpets from age 8, and , wove a perfectly formed St Georges flag on his book..There is a real curiosity about British culture and as 3pm approached (time for a world cup match) some of them were rather on edge and keen to finish…but there was enough engagement for us to feel a connection and healthy curiosity had been created and all of them seemed keen to come to the NPG tomorrow At the end of the sessions a few of them made their weaves into wristbands, this made me smile…
