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BE INSPIRED From Alia Al Farsi's digital gallery. 4
Editor-In-Chief Manar Alhinai Managing Editor Sharifah Alhinai Art Director Maya Al Moukayed Contributing Illustrator Alexandre Troin Foreword Bodour Al Qasimi Featured Personalities Bothayna Al-Essa, Hoda Barakat Marilyn Booth, PhD, Abdulrazak Gurnah, PhD Contributing Writers H.H. Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi , Fatima Alharthi, Jokha Alharthi, PhD, Akram Alkatreb, Shahd Alshammari, PhD, Myriam Amri, Sharon Aruparayil, Marilyn Booth, Mariam Elkholy, Osama Esber, Jamal Fayez, Huda Hamad, Bushra Khalfan, Wafai Laila, Zainab Mirza, Salha Obeid and Shaikha Sabti Translators Nema Alaraby, Marilyn Booth, PhD, Jonas Elbousty, PhD Salma Harland, Sawad Hussain and Sam Wilder Cover Image Mark Pringle About: Sekka is an independent publication and integrated creative platform that is dedciated to arts, culture, literature and opinions from the Arab world, with a focus on the Arab Gulf States. It has been published since 2017 to share the rich stories of the region and amplify the voices of its people. Copyright: © 2022 Sekka Ltd. All rights reserved. Neither this publication or any part of it may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Sekka Ltd. Sekka is published three times a year by Sekka Ltd. , a company registered in London, the United Kingdom. For corrections, please e-mail editorial@sekkamag.com. Disclaimer: ISSN 2754-432X (Print) ISSN 2754-4338 (Online) Subscriptions:
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By Bodour Al Qasimi
The Arabic word for literature is adab. The word originally referred to an individual’s good manners, elegance, respect and courtesy. The word adab later evolved to encompass literature, poetry, history, oratory skills and philology. ‘Al Adeeb,’ or a man of literature, was revered in medieval Arab society and so enjoyed a privileged life because his words mattered. In this period, poetry and rhetoric were used to celebrate a tribe’s accomplishments and assert power against its enemies. Words were, indeed, mightier than the sword. Today, words still matter. The world is in a fragile state, with everything from a seemingly endless mate change challenges to social injustice as well as deepening racial and ideological divisions. We desperately need words to caress our souls and help us heal. Words, literature and stories are now our refuge, our teachers and our creative space. We have a choice: our words can either have the power to build bridges and understanding between people, or they can deepen prejudice and destroy hope for a peaceful co-existence. As the saying goes, words can be ‘bullets or seeds.’ Writers and poets now have a moral responsibility to plant seeds for a more compassionate world.
If words and language are power, then having no voice makes you powerless. Those who are silenced or overlooked become marginalised, an afterthought, a negligible dot on the vast canvas of life. Writers, poets and creatives must therefore be the conscience of society and have the responsibility to speak their truth, share their stories and help them realise their hopes and dreams. Publishers have a vital role to play, too. Through the books they decide to publish, publishers can be a force for peace by uniting people in times building greater understanding and appreciation of cultural differences. My understanding and appreciation of the powerful role books play in building bridges have been strengthened during my current role as president of the International Publishers Association. From Argentina to Georgia, from Cairo to Nairobi, and from London to Amman, I have engaged with publishers from different markets. Over the past two years, since the onset of Covid-19, the publishing world has had serious challenges to contend with. However, there is still incredible energy and passion running through the industry, igniting our desire to continue publishing stories, empowering voices and readers and, in doing so, building bridges.
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nology enables us to engage with the daily lives of others around the globe. Yet, although we are closer to each other virtually, we are at the same time at risk of losing sight of our shared humanity and inherent interconnectedness. We need to be mindful of this, as we all have a role to play. Sekka Magazine does so by telling stories in authentic voices, uncovering talent and sharing Arab culture with the rest of the world … with adab! In this new issue, Sekka plays a constructive role in showcasing Arab culture by sharing the stories and poetry of Jokha Alharthi, Marilyn Booth, Bushra Khalfan and Huda Hamed as well as many other shining lights. It also includes feature interviews with some of my favourite writers from around the world, including Bothayna Al Essa, Hoda Barakat and Abdulrazak Gurnah. I have always found these writers so fascinating, as they give me a glimpse into another world and other cultures. Even if their characters’ day-to-day lives may differ from my own, the stories have a transcendent quality that speaks to me as a reader and always resonates with me as a human being. Now is the moment for Arab culture to be given a platform, not just for new writers but also for rediscovering our legends and ancient writings. There is much talent waiting to be uncovered across the Arab world. I am excited to discover the winning submissions from Sekka’s annual literary prize in this issue. Initiatives such as these encourage new writers, which is vitally important
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Under the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, member of the Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates and the Ruler of Sharjah, my home of Sharjah has become central to this mission in supporting Arab culture, with its aim to create a dialogue and an understanding with others through books, art, and literature. There is an excerpt from one of His Highness’s speeches delivered in 1995 in this edition, where he calls for the necessity of Arab cultural development so we can be ready to participate in the global cultural civilisation. His guidance and consistency are helping us to build more cultural bridges and enrich our human experience. I would like to see the same in every language and culture from around the world – showcasing talent, telling stories and expressing joy and pain. Think how many wonderful stories are out there, as yet untold. Books, words and literature can spread messages of love and peace throughout the world, so I hope that different cultures approach their differences with the original sense of adab in mind by using elegant words and language to convey respect, gentleness, humility and humanity. We can only hope to resolve humanity’s current challenges with more understanding, education, respectfulness and bridges. I hope you enjoy this edition of Sekka Magazine— its philosophy chimes with my own, and I am honoured to be a part of this edition.
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Words by Sharifah Alhinai
ABDULRAZAK GURNAH: WRITING ADDRESSES KINDNESS
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HODA BARAKAT & MARILYN BOOTH ON THE VOICES OF THE LOST Words by Sharifah Alhinai 26
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BOTHAYNA AL-ESSA: LITERATURE SAVES US YEARS OF PERSONAL GROWTH Words by Sharifah Alhinai 40
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With the aim of increasing the literary output of the Arab world, Sekka launched its first literary prize in October 2021. Submissions for nonfiction, fiction and poetry written in English by those from or residing in Arab countries were open for two months, during which hundreds of entries were received. The winners of the first and second place submissions in each category, which are listed below and published in the pages of the issue, were judged and chosen by Jonas Elbousty, PhD, Afra Atiq, PhD, Shahd Alshammari, PhD, and Amal Al Sahlawi.
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Myriam Amri for ‘An Archipelago of Grief ’
Fatima Alharthi for ‘Pear’
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Sharon Aruparayil for ‘Shoeboxes in the Sky’
Zainab Mirza for ‘The Drive Home’
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Shaikha Sabti for ‘A Relationship with My Dad’
Mariam Elkholy for ‘Post-war Pubs’
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The
When my mother placed me into the hands of Hajja Fatima, the wife of Hajj Ali, she told me that they were a good family, that they would take care of me and treat me like their own daughter, because they are people who fear the Lord. All that I had to do was be a good girl, and that my word had to be ‘by God I will.’
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Peacoc Feathe
ck’s er
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Hasty For a couple of nights, I surveilled the house from the outside. It was massive. Lights beaming upwards from the ground intersected to sculpt a star. The garden sprawled over two hundred metres into the distance. With its glass façade, the house gave the impression of being spacious. I wanted nothing more than to meet the artist who had never left her house for the past two years except to attend to urgent matters. She never answered her phone, either. Her husband would always say, ‘She’s exhausted,’ ‘She’s sleeping,’ ‘She’s drawing’ or ‘She’s ill.’ Each time, there was a new and ready excuse.
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Spirit 121
Transi
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to the Inside
ients Contrary to his usual habits…he’s sitting there, looking out to sea before sunset…It’s the time when he normally takes a walk...following the advice of the doctor at his local clinic… who’s recommended that he take walks if he wants to lose some of his excess weight…and look after his frail health… now that he’s over sixty.
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Paradi They were in Paradise: palm trees, velvety grass and baskets of fruit. The magnificent sea extended forever, a vast panorama mounted just for their eyes. Young women wore traditional costumes dotted with small flowers, their energetic smiles never flagging. She had an intense urge, for a brief moment, to touch the cheek of the girl with very pale skin, running her finger along it to see whether it was as delicately soft as it was translucent. But she was in Paradise; how could she possibly hope for any more delicacies than already surrounded her here?
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Fourteenth Session of The Sharjah Book Fair 154
Wednesday, 1st November 1995 On the occasion of the opening of the fourteenth session of the Sharjah Book Fair, His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, member of the Supreme Council, Ruler of Sharjah, said:
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