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Notes
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'Common Ground is a writing project run by the National council of Jewish Women (NCJWA Vic.) for refugees and migrant women from three immigrant communities: Assyrian, Jewish and Sudanese. This project explored, through writing and storytelling, home as a changing place of identity and the common ground between these three groups' (p. viii).
Assyrian facilitators: Mariam Hormis and Vivian Hormiz; Sudanese facilitator: Souzan Mohamed.
The workshops with Jewish women were conducted in English; those with Assyrian and Sudanese women were in Arabic. Those women who did not write told their stories to another member of the group, who wrote it down. Some of the original texts in Arabic are included.
The contents are arranged in sections titled: 'Cultural Traditions,' 'What I Left,' 'Relatives,' 'Food,' 'Blood,' and 'Language, Luck and Destiny.'
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Dedication: Dedicated to all those who have made, or hope to make, a new home here in Australia. Their homes are found in memories and stories.
Contents
- A Mother's Beauty, single work short story (p. 2)
- Sabbath Candlesticks, single work short story (p. 3)
- Happy Jewish Memories, single work autobiography (p. 4)
- Shelail, single work autobiography (p. 5)
- My Great Grandfather's Samovar, single work prose (p. 6)
- Friday Nights, an Excerpt, single work autobiography (p. 7)
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Psonim,
single work
prose
The author describes the most memorable object in her mother's house, the Psonim, or spice box, once used in the ceremony of Havdalah.
- Fun-Filled Sundays, single work autobiography (p. 9)
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Alqosh,
single work
autobiography
Josephine Youhanna remembers her wedding in Alqosh, Iraq, at the age of fourteen.
- Wedding Shoes, single work autobiography (p. 11)
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Zaar,
single work
prose
Zaar is spiritual ceremony in Sudan for women facing psychological problems. 'In Zaar, women feel free to do all that is forbidden. Perhaps this freedom, even if it's only during Zaar, is the key to their cure and to a lasting peace with whatever is their destiny' (13).
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A Poem for the Groom,
single work
short story
The author describes the preparations for a wedding, including the bride's poem for the groom.
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Assyrian New Year Celebration,
single work
prose
This piece describes the Assyrian New Year celebration, held on the first of April.
- Precious Memories, single work autobiography (p. 23)
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Under the Blue Sky,
single work
prose
This piece takes the form of a letter from the author to her mother, whom she has not seen since leaving her home country.
- Far Enough for Manfred, single work prose (p. 25-27)
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My Exploding Heart,
single work
autobiography
The writer describes her memories of bombing during the Iran/Iraq war. 'Nearly my entire childhood was lost in that war' (29).
- When I Was a Child, single work prose (p. 29)
- Glimpse of a Childhood, single work autobiography (p. 30-33)
- Common Ground, single work short story (p. 34-36)