Tribes

I spent my night counting shooting stars 30,000 feet above the Mediterranean Sea. I couldn’t think of a better way to decompress and ponder the reasons and  remember the people that brought me to this point. I lost track of the number of stars the same way I have lost count of each person that has blessed my journey. There are far too many of you to number but I couldn’t be more thankful for each.

I could not have done this without you.

As I write this, I am sitting alone in the city of love doing what I love by sharing my thoughts with you. Paris is a city draped with expectations, yet here I am shattering them all. I can’t even find the Eiffel Tower and I have a piece of luggage holding my hand—no dedicated man.

But in a city such as this, having been in cities around the world, I am reminded as to why I am here to begin with. I am here to share the stories of those I meet. My goal is to shatter stereotypes. When you read my work, I want you to see the world and catch a glimpse of the people in it in a way that you never did before. I want you to see a similarity between you and someone you think you have nothing in common with. Whether it’s an audible gasp or a new sense of humanity, I strive to be truthful and let you in the very window that others across the world have been humble enough to let me witness.

This summer has been a summer of stories, a summer of shared experiences with new tribes from around the globe. The moments I have captured only tell a fragment of the story of the people I have met. As long as people have a voice to speak, I have a reason to share.

“I leave Doha for India in January. It’s just a visit. I think my boys are so excited to see me.”

“People only think twice a day: Before they go to bed and when they’re on the toilet.”

“My sister and I change who takes care of my parents in Ukraine. They are very old and afraid of war. I go now to visit family in America but it is hard. I am so tired.”

These are blurbs from people, from humans. Their very cultures possess stereotypes that may leave you believing that the words I share with you are figments of my imagination. They are not. These people are humans and are removed from you only by distance. The Ukrainian woman fears Russia and puts her family first, the Indian man found a new home in the Middle East as a way to provide for his growing family and the single shop keeper speaks near perfect English because he loves America. Is the media you are consuming an accurate depiction of various tribes and their beliefs or is it propaganda shoved into a western lens?

The gift of travel for me has been a push of reality. I can think about an issue all I want, but it means nothing in comparison to the people who actually live it. World issues always have a thousand faces behind it. My calling as a journalist is to show you humanity in a way that my parents fought to show me.  Growing up in Jordan and Ethiopia wasn’t easy, but I see now why my God allowed it to happen. This world is so much bigger than you and me and I think there is something to be said about unearthing issues and a history that have nothing and yet everything to do with your life. Are we not all humans? Are we not all loved? Do we not all want to be remembered members of our tribes?

We all belong to a tribe: A culture, a feeling and a family that keeps us alive and pushes us to follow our goals and kindle our inner person. Whether you live in the Middle East, Arkansas or Bangladesh, I believe the similarities between you far outweigh the differences. The stereotypes of each region shouldn’t define the people that live in it. The beauty is when the different tribes intertwine, when the billions of strands of human life mingle together and openly learn from one another.