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Telling Stories

The teenagers in the homework club at the Somali community centre were all given the same task. Write an article, in the style of a newspaper report, about a teenager who heroically rescues a young child. It was up to them to imagine a heroic rescue, and decide what had happened and who was involved.

That each one of these Somali teenagers gave their stories a generically English setting is perhaps not so surprising. Yet none of them gave their characters anything but typically English names. The heroes were John and Matthew; there was no Omar, no Abdullahi, no Amina.

Please pray for children and young people of immigrant families as they negotiate growing up in the cultures of their homes and of the wider society in which they live.

[Claire is a member of the Southall Team]

[Servants works in a number of Islamic settings, including India and Indonesia. This month is the month of Ramadan (also known as Ramazan), the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts about 30 days. It is a month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating and drinking during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and submissiveness to God. Each day this month we will be putting reflections, stories, and information about Islam on this website to help you learn more and pray for our Muslim friends.]