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Being from a different country and moving to one where a different language is spoken can be challenging at the start. It does get easier as time goes on .. although it’s much harder for Syrians who came here at an old(er) age as the accent and the language itself is much more difficult to learn than it is for me who came to Newry at a young age.
Younger ones will pick it up much faster and the English language is in fact taught in Arab schools as a foreign language, just like how we learn French/ Spanish here in Northern Ireland, so for us it was much easier whereas older families found it much more difficult and are still struggle to this day and use their younger children to help translate from time to time.
This makes it difficult as it’s hard for parents to attend things such as parent/ teacher evenings, doctor appointments, or even just reading a school letter etc. For example my dads English is really good he's lived in Newry before i was even born so he’s usually the one who attends those meetings, whereas my mums English isn’t as it should be considering she’s been here for 9 years, but it’s getting better.
One of the most difficult thing is knowing that my little twin brothers (Adam and Omar) have a huge language barrier as they were born here and their whole surrounding is the English language which coupled with them not having any family members who live in this country made it more difficult for them to speak Arabic. Because of this it took them way longer to speak full sentences than other kids as they were learning 2 languages at the same time , Arabic and English. Now, their English is stronger and their Arabic is still there as mum and dad refused to give up on teaching it to them it , and they are absolutely right because if they were to go back to visit their granny who doesn’t speak English for example, how is she going to communicate with her grandchildren? How are they going to communicate with their other family members?
In my opinion, I think this is a problem many families will face in the future. I do a good bit of interpreting whether it’s for my mum or her friends when they ask me for help to book appointments etc . At home my dad massively encourages us to speak Arabic as it’s the only place we really speak it. Everywhere else is English and he doesn’t want us to forget our own language, although we do lean on English when us siblings talk to one another.
I think it’s the same for people who are from Russia, Poland , Lithuania and Romania who are a big population in not only Newry but Northern Ireland in general. I don’t think it’s as much of a problem in terms of their kids as they have a lot of their own surroundings here but i do think it’s the same issue with learning the language for older ones, the same goes for every country anyone is going to live in.
What’s your situation like?
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Following the publication of the South Armagh Policing Review earlier this week the PSNI Chief Constable, Simon Byrne has already sought to clarify some of the recommendations in the document.
Byrne held discussions with the Northern Ireland Policing Board, a range of political representatives.
He also met Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and a number of DUP representatives who told him of "deeply held community confidence concerns and their disillusionment arising from a series of policing issues in recent times."
In a statement Byrne said "I accept the importance of ensuring that there is widespread confidence in policing across all parts of our community. I reaffirmed my commitment to listening to unionist community concerns and rebuilding confidence.
"We will continue with genuine engagement to ensure that local concerns and feedback are captured."
Byrne says there is agreement on many of the operational policing improvements set out in the Review and added that no memorials will be removed from, or moved within, our buildings (Recommendation 6) and that it was never envisaged that there would be joint patrolling by the Police Service of Northern Ireland and An Garda Síochána.
Byrne said "The issue of hot pursuit will not be taken forward without the agreement of both governments. This recommendation will not, therefore, be progressed by the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
"We will continue to seek to maximise the co-operation between both organisations in tackling crime and road safety in the border area. All cooperation will respect and adhere to the jurisdictional requirements on both sides of the border (Recommendations 45/46).
"No action will be taken with regard to the use of Irish language unless it is in line with the approach being taken across the Northern Ireland public sector more widely (Recommendation 38).
"Further clarity will be provided in a time-scaled implementation plan to the Policing Board in the coming weeks."
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What I like about Newry High School is that there are many people with different race/ethnicity, religions, cultures etc.
It's unlike other schools in Newry which are near enough all Irish Catholics,
I feel the cultural mix at Newry High makes it a more understanding and welcoming community as well as giving pupils better knowledge of other peoples culture.
There are quite a few Muslim pupils who have recently joined although it’s nowhere near the numbers you would find at schools in England. I think in the near future it will most likely become even more mixed than it already is.
When it comes to pupil nationalities, from my own knowledge I'd say there are Irish, English, Lithuanian, Polish, Syrian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Brazilian, French, Spanish and Russian. There certainly could be a few that I've missed but these are the ones I can think of right now and when you look at it that is actually quite a lot of different backgrounds, all in one school! I don't think you would see that in any other schools in Newry?
There isn’t really anything done differently in Newry High compared to other schools, at least that I know of. It's really just the same, we just have more people from different backgrounds.
I don't think there are any additional facilities in my school to help different faiths practise their religion but that's not so much of a problem for me as I can do that when I get home but others may wish to have that available.
Some of my friends do have different backgrounds although all of us were raised here while other friends are all originally from Newry, but they’re very understanding and not judgemental at all.
I think all schools should be open to the idea of having a mixed school as it gives teenagers more knowledge on others and may help in adult life when your working with people from different backgrounds.
Inas Abdulrazzaq - A Teenagers Perspective
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I don’t know what anyone else thinks but in my personal opinion no, I don’t think there is racism in Newry.
I've not experienced any racism whatsoever although i've seen some rare occasions where old men would come up to people from a different background and ask rude racist questions or comments and make them feel very uncomfortable but it doesn’t happen often, or to the point where anyone would think Newry is a racist city.
I guess you could say that’s another positive about living in a smaller city as there isn’t as many problems going on as there would be in Belfast or London.
Newry is just a simple city with a friendly community. Near enough every stranger that walks past you in town smiles at you no matter where you are from or what colour your skin is and I think that’s a thing that not many people realise is wholesome as you wouldn’t see that happening often in large cities.
The downside to it though is there aren't many different backgrounds here. From my own knowledge I think we have mainly Romanian, Polish and Lithuanian here and obviously there’s some Syrians joining but not many. I’d say 99% of the population here in Newry is Christian, so the ones from different backgrounds do stand out and you can’t really blame the people here as they are just not used to it, they don’t know much about different religions or cultures so anything different from theirs can confuse them and may cause them to ask a few questions, but don’t take offence at that, instead educate them! They are not racist or rude they are curious.
Who knows maybe in the near future there will be more people coming in and introducing different cultures that I don’t even know myself, that way we can all learn about different nationalities.
Now what are your thoughts …?
Inas Abdulrazzaq - A Teenagers Perspective
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This weeks story is about Ramadan as not many people in Newry know much about it or it’s purpose!
Ramadan is a month of worship and self improvement, Muslims are expected to put in more effort in practising Islam. You fast during this month from dawn until sunset. Why do Muslims fast during Ramadan? Same as Catholics fasting during Lent… It’s to get closer to God through prayer and contemplation.
You also have to do charity during this month and you are supposed to give 2.5% of your money to the poor each year. Most people do it during Ramadan as it’s a holy month. Catholic’s cut out one certain thing in their diet while Muslims don’t eat or drink anything from sunrise to sunset and then break their fast by dinner with their families so there is some similarities between the two.
You may think that not eating or drinking anything for that long is harmful for your body but in fact it is very good for you as your body becomes more energetic and your memory and concentration improves greatly at this stage. The organs are finished up their healing process and once all toxins are removed, the body is able to function at its maximum capacity and makes it stronger fighting diseases. In my opinion I think the reason God made this mandatory is because if he didn’t then no one would do it because who doesn’t like food.
In my family we pray during the whole year but during this month we pray more as it’s a month of worship. I also help mum cook and set up the table ready to have dinner at sunset.
It is more difficult to fast in Newry than it was back in Aleppo as not only is everyone eating and drinking around you while your fasting but Ramadan is around summer these past few years and the sun doesn’t set until 10:30 pm here while it set at 6 pm back there.
But I believe it’ll be worth it as our reward in the after life will be greater as it was harder for us.
Inas Abdulrazzaq - A Teenagers Perspective
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Where do I feel at home? The short answer to that question is right here in Newry which may be a surprise to some, as Aleppo was the place I was born in but it’s not the place I grew up in, it’s not the place I have memories in, it’s not the place I made friends in.
Newry was that place which is why it feels like home. The biggest struggle about moving to another country with completely different religious and cultural background is fitting in. I don’t fit in with Syrian's as my Arabic isn’t as good as theirs, I can’t read and write in Arabic easily. I’ve no memories to relate to them back in Syria, I don’t listen to the same music as them and I don’t think exactly the same way as most people back there too.
Though at the same time I don’t fit in here too. I’m a completely different religion with a completely different culture and language, the normal that is here isn’t normal back there and the normal over there isn’t the normal here.
Why would you try so hard to fit in when you were born to stand out!
So where do people like me fit in? They don’t fit in their home country and they don’t fit in here, so where do they fit in? I don’t know myself but a quote that I found inspiring was “Why would you try so hard to fit in when you were born to stand out”.
It’s a bigger struggle than most people realise and it’s hard to find a balance between the two. What I like about being from two different places is that I feel like I’m more understanding as I have knowledge as well as experience from two cultural backgrounds and that could be good as it makes you unique and non judgemental as you have an understanding of how people from different backgrounds think. You also have celebrations such as Eid and Christmas that you get to experience - The more the better!
It was a thing I struggled with but now, not so much as I’ve learned to embrace it and cope with it. I can now balance the two and I’m very thankful to have experiences of two different worlds - Now that’s something not everyone can say!
Inas Abdulrazzaq - A Teenagers Perspective
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I think for someone my age, living in Newry can be boring, as it is a small city - although I’d consider it a town.
I don’t have many hobbies even though I did do piano, swimming, horse riding, hockey, netball and dancing but I quit them all at a young age and that would probably be my biggest regret as now that I’m older I don’t have hobbies that I’m interested in - just put me on Netflix and I’ll sit there for ages.
But there can be fun things to do, like go-karting, tennis, going out for a meal, frozen yogurt, and when it’s summer you go and pier jump/swim in a lake.
What I like about Newry is that everyone is close to each other in school, or at least the year groups, as there isn’t many people, so in a way we become family.
Everything is walking distance so good for us lazy people and I love how friendly most people are here. In a way I feel like it’s so much better than living in Belfast as there’s so much more problems going on there.
What I don’t like about Newry is simply how boring it can get, after all it isn’t that big so not many people and not many things to do. If I was to go out, mostly it would just be out for food.
My favourite place in Newry would probably be Friscos, the sit in is so cosy and it’s just a nice place to hang about with your friends and their deserts are really nice too!
I meet up with friends often and even though there isn’t much to do we love each others company.
Overall I think Newry is a small friendly environment and I feel like it’s become home to me now. I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else even though I do moan about it being boring I still love it and I feel like others think the same. I wouldn’t change anything about Newry , I think it’s perfect just the way it is.
Inas Abdulrazzaq - A Teenagers Perspective
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Csilla Toldy is from Hungary and she was 18 years old when she left her home country to come to Europe. She came to UK in 1995 where she lived in London for 3 years and moved to Northern Ireland in 1998 after the Good Friday Agreement. Csillas home town is Budapest which is the capital of Hungary. It is a very old and beautiful city. Budapest has got many great bridges, museums, theatres and a big castle.
Csilla lived in Warrenpoint at the start but tells us that it was her partner who really found this place at first. She had visited Warrenpoint 6 months before in April 1998 and then they decided to move in. She currently is living in Rostrevor and finds it a very different place compare to Budapest. Csilla recalls “Budapest is very big city where my parents lived in 45 square metre flat. We lived a very different outdoor life while in Rostrevor we are very close to mountains and Kilbroney Park. They are very good surroundings for my writing. I can go for walks and be very close to nature. When I came to Northern Ireland, I found people are very nice but they were very curious who was I. They were asking loads of questions regarding myself and my life. I was very welcomed, even I thought I had a funny accent but nobody really cared about this and I had no problem with assimilation”
In 1998 when they came to Warrenpoint the local people were preparing for a millennium celebration. So, they got the idea to use the granite stone at the promenade and do something with it to be remembered. They then established a community group called “Light 2000”. Having done that they asked the public what would be the most 4 important words to be used on the granite stone for the millennium 2000 for Northern Ireland. They came out with 4 words - Peace, Hope, Light and Life. And that’s why the 4 words are found around the peace stone. The millennium 2000 was celebrated with strong community spirit. Csilla tells us “We lit 2000 candles on New Year’s Eve 1999. We built a very good community on that night and people really enjoyed it”
Csilla is a writer and a poet and she has several books published with poetry and short stories. She tells us that “You might guess that it is very hard making a living being writer. So, I teach creative writing for University and I teach yoga sometimes. We used to have yoga studio in Newry for a long time but in the pandemic myself and my husband decided to teach yoga via zoom”
One of her best hobbies used to be traveling before pandemic started. Csilla loved to go to different places and see other cultures. She loves mountains and does a lot of hiking in her spare time because she loves to connect to nature.
Csilla feels very lucky to live in Rostrevor now because it has become a very international village. She states “I am aware of 19 to 20 different nationalities living in Rostrevor. The local people are very welcoming and very friendly. We are regularly creating art and poetry events in Rostrevor where we invite poets and writers from other countries to join us. Where we can all share our passion within the beautiful village of Rostrevor”
If she had to change something in the place, were she lives, she feels that especially Newry needs more art venues such as an art gallery, Csilla told us that she sees that there are many empty old buildings which are not used and feels for a little amount of money they could be refurbished and used for arts. And also the Albert Basin park should go ahead the sooner the better. Her community group for example planted 400 trees for schoolchildren in 2019. And she thinks it would be nice if the same happened in Albert Basin Park.
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As some people don’t actually know about Islam, especially Newry as it is a small city with not many people from different religions, I have based this weeks story explaining it.
The word “Islam” means submissions to the will of God, it comes from the Arabic word “Salam” which means peace.
To be a Muslim you must believe in the following 5 things: 1: There is no other God but God himself and you shall not worship anyone other than him; 2: You must believe in all of the Prophets and that Muhammad was the last of the Prophets; 3: Believe in the angels of God; 4: Believe in all the books of God which are the Bible, Quran and Tanak; 5: The day of judgement which is the day that happens after everyone is dead and must go to either heaven or hell.
There are many things that were made mandatory in Islam but here’s the 5 pillars or “main”things
1: Belief that there is no other God but God and that Muhammad is the last messenger
2: Your 5 daily prayers
3: Alms, giving at least 2.5% of your money to the poor each year
4: Fasting during the month of Ramadan
5: Going to Hajj in Mecca if you are financially and medically capable at least once in your lifetime.
The main difference between Islam and Christianity is that Christians believe Jesus in the son of God while Muslims believe that Jesus was a Prophet because God can’t have a child and that you shouldn’t worship anyone other than God.
Living in a majority Christian country can be difficult as no one around you believes in what you believe in.
Sometimes it’s hard to hold on to your faith, especially as a teenager living in Newry which is only a small town, dressing modest, no drinking, no eating pork because swine are not clean, therefore God made it forbidden not only in Islam but in Christianity and Judaism too,
Everything normalised here isn’t normal to my family or my religion but this world is just a test, the real life is the after life, so with that mindset you’ll know that even though it’s hard it’s worth it in the end.
Inas Abdulrazzaq - A Teenagers Perspective
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