A Small Adventure on Uncle Sam's Land 3.0

Hey guys, shall we continue?

"Yes, of course!"

Alright sure :)

It was my first day at work XD

Week 3 (17-21/10/2022)

My time in the US was getting more exciting when the third week came. There were some brand new things that I think I could never experience in other places even in Malaysia. In the first place, it seems that America has become a place of rendezvous (meeting) of culture from all over the world and this week was so significant in manifesting this. So, brace yourself as this posting will be a long one ;) 

Malaysians in Nebraska (I, Razman, Azida & Justine [PhD Student at UNL])

On Monday, I attended a session delivered by Dr Jodi entitled "Civic Identities: Power and Privilege" where we discussed a lot about how these elements influence society's hierarchy and well-being. My Fellow friends and I also did some self-reflection activity by using a special form named "Wheel of Privilege and Power". The session was really thoughtful because I could reflect my own life experience from multiple aspects, among others, race, religion, gender and socioeconomic status. Once we finished the activity, Dr Jodi asked us to share the reflection among each other. I talked to Hasanah who was sitting next to me about my self-reflection being a Malay Muslim in Malaysia before listening to her life experience as well. Then, all of us were given "open mic" to share about our self-reflection to others in general. I listened to their stories attentively and some of them invoked my inner sense of empathy while reminding myself to always be grateful for what I have. Besides, I also shared some reflection about the common stereotype of "Lazy Malays" in Malaysia while quoting some commentaries from a book entitled "Perangai Bergantung Pada Diri Sendiri" (Temperament of Self-Dependence) written by Zainal Abidin Ahmad @ Pendeta Zaaba.

Later in the afternoon, Jonathan Wong, our Malaysian-born facilitator delivered another session entitled "Navigating Challenges in Government Settings" that encompassed the topics of good governance and corruption. Citing the 2021 Corruption Perception Index, Malaysia obtained 48 point scale (on a scale of 100 [very clean] to 0 [highly corrupt]) and ranked 62th in the world (2nd in Southeast Asia region) in terms of perceived levels of public sector corruption. Some Fellows also shared their opinions about their countries' governance and corruption issues. Joal, a Filipino Fellow who is also a young councillor at his municipal council in Bicol Region, Philippines also shared with us about his struggles and challenges faced in executing his office especially when it comes to good governance. In brief, I could say that corruption issues are still rampant in our region and there's much work to be done in combating it.

On Tuesday, we went to Omaha City Council and its building is located in Downtown Omaha. In the morning, we attended the Douglas County Commissioners Meeting which was held publicly and every single Fellow had the chance to introduce ourselves to all seven commissioners chaired by Madam Mary Ann Borgeson. I also had the chance to talk to Mr. Mike Friend about criminal justice issues in Omaha after the session ended. After that, we met Hon. Jean Louise Stothert, Mayor of Omaha (the first woman to hold the position too!) in her office and listened to her challenging stories in administering Omaha. In the afternoon, we had our lunch at nearby restaurant, Bangkok Kitchen and its green curry was delicious. Later in the evening, we attended another welcoming session by Omaha City Council (legislative body in Omaha Local Government) and greeted Mr. Vinny Palermo, one of its councillors. He was so glad to hosting us before presenting Omaha Honorary Citizenship to each one of us (Yay, I got two honorary citizenships already! XD).

On the next day, we were brought to North Omaha where large numbers of African Americans are currently living. There is a planned township in this area (known as Highlander Accelerator) and some apartments are built for low-income families there together with a community clinic to serve their medical needs with a low fee. We also visited the Malcom X Foundation Memorial which houses exhibitions about the popular civil rights leader with Islamic background (he is also known as Malik el-Shabazz). Previously, I had several discussions with some Malaysian friends regarding his struggles in championing civil rights especially for the African Americans in between 50s to 60s. As a Muslim myself, I am so inspired with him because in the last phases of his life, he embraced the true values of Islam as a religion that upholds justice and peace for mankind regardless of their race and skin colour although some people still perceived him as an extremist.

The land site of Malcom X's family house that has been torn down

Then, we visited the North Omaha Music & Arts Center (NOMA), a local jazz studio run by Dana Murray who is an accomplished songwriter and producer in Omaha. In a sharing session with him, he told us that the purpose of establishing this center is to provide music education for youngsters especially in North Omaha while also functioning as an open space for the public. After that, we walked across the road to The Union for Contemporary Arts where it has a large gallery exhibiting several paintings and sketches on the theme of African Americans' struggles and even there was a special exhibition entitled "Growing Up Black; Growing Up Wanda" during our visit which highlighted the daily challenges faced by African American women who are prone to discrimination and sexual violence in several decades ago. In short, I perceive that they (African Americans) are still not treated well enough and still become a major problem in America until this very day. Later that night, Jeffry (East Timorese Fellow) and I had a meeting with Mr Daniel, an Attorney-at-Law based in Omaha and discussed a lot about human rights issues in the city which is also his main area of practice.

Martin Luther King Jr. Small Memorial

On Thursday, it is another whole new experience for me as I interacted with Hispanic Americans who are also have significant numbers in America yet rarely talked about especially among Malaysians. My Fellow friends and I went to the Heartland Workers Center, a local nonprofit that focused on Hispanic American community empowerment. According to its Executive Director, Dr Lina, they offered language classes in helping this community especially some of them who are working in the meat poultry to communicate in English effectively. Next, we also went to the El Museo Latino (the Latin Museum) where it showcased Hispanic American culture and tradition through A LOT of drawings and artefacts. Based on these two visits, it is undeniable that substandard treatment and undocumented migration of this community are some other challenging issues that have not been resolved until today. I ended this paragraph with an important question as purported by Dr Lina: "Are you agree that American Dream = American Nightmare now?"

Later that day, here comes the most awaited event - CULTURAL NIGHT!

In this event, all Fellows wore their traditional clothes representing their respective countries (everyone is so glamorous that night!) alongside performing traditional dances, singing etc. Razman, Azida, Nurrisha (Singaporean Fellow), Wei (Bruneian Fellow) and I decided to perform together in representing "Alam Melayu" (Malay World) with poem recital, singing and dancing. Do you wanna guess what song that we chose?

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It was "Suasana Hari Raya", a famous Malaysian Eid al-Fitri (a Muslim festivity) song XD

I also took the chance to recite my self-composed poem entitled "Tiga Negara; Satu Hati" (Three Nations; One Heart) with full appreciation in front of YSEALI Program Team and other Fellows as the opening of our performance. Here's the original text:

TIGA NEGARA; SATU HATI

(Three Nations; One Heart)

Di suatu masa

(Once upon a time)

Tanah air ini menjadi saksi

(This motherland became the witness)

Kisah suka dan duka

(Stories of joy and sadness)

Putra putri watan sejati

(Of our nation's gallant children)

Pabila Inggeris hadir dan pergi

(When British came and went)

Tinggalah kami bertiga ini

(Leaving the three of us alone)

Mencari makna dan erti

(We look for our identities)

Bersatu atau bersendiri?

(Be united or be our own?)

Walau kini kami terpisah

(Although we are no longer together)

Kerna cita negara bangsa

(Due to the varying visions of our nations)

Tetap kami berasa megah

(We are still proud)

Akan budaya dan cita rasa

(With our culture and charm)

Di bawah langit yang sama

(As we share the same sky)

On Friday, Dr Patrick took the lead in a discussion about "Conflict Resolution". As a lawyer by profession, I could relate to this topic with my field as facilitating resolution of conflicts between a client and another party is a part and parcel of my job. But sadly, it was our final session with him as he had to travel to India for a visiting program later that week.. sob sob :'( I couldn't agree more with him when he said that "Conflict is natural; it's neither good nor bad; and it's just the matter how we deal with it." Even at the international level, I believe that diplomacy is the key approach in avoiding conflict between states besides promoting good relations for the sake of world peace. At noon, Rada, Razman and I went to Shafie Islamic Center for Friday prayers and we were so happy in meeting local Muslim community there before joining afternoon's session with Jonathan entitled "Self-Care for Social Change." It was kinda deep conversation session where some Fellows shared their life struggles and ways they coped with them with the rest.

In conclusion, the third week has delivered multiple eye-opening experiences which I don't think I could gain elsewhere. Learning about the culture of other communities has also been my interest since my campus days and there, I even gained tonnes of new knowledge from on-campus sessions and site visits along this week.

To be continued...