Motaz Amer - Interview

Motaz is an Arab refugee and student, with Yemeni citizenship. He has lived in; Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Greece, Northern-Ireland and he currently lives in Scotland where he is studying for his BA degree in Computing Science.

Motaz Amer

Motaz explained how his perception of home and his values have been shaped by his experience of displacement since the war broke out in Yemen in 2014, highlighting how blessed he felt to have his family with him throughout the process of seeking sanctuary:

o   “I considered myself lucky, because I had my family most of the time when moving from country to country. Home to me, it's not just a physical country or city - it's more a sense of loving understanding and being surrounded by a community, which was my family, my friends and the wider community. I think that sense of support and love is where you feel safe and that is home to me.”

o   “I'm originally from Yemen and we moved when the war started at the end of 2014, when I was nine. Me, my dad, my mum and my brother, we moved to Saudi Arabia, then to Egypt, then to Greece, and finally to Northern Ireland. And now I have moved from Belfast to Glasgow, to study at the University. I was lucky enough to be surrounded by my family most of the time, and so I didn't feel the sense of loneliness that most people feel when they when they leave their community, their families and friends behind.”

o   “My grandfather, grandmother and other relatives are still in Yemen. Sadly, it has been 10 years, and the conflicts are ongoing, with poor living conditions and circumstances in Yemen. When you are political refugee, it is so much more difficult to back home, because your life is under threat and would be too dangerous to go there, so I can’t see my family. But I am still in touch with them, a lot of people don’t have access to Wi-Fi but happily enough, I still have contact with them through messages and calls. It is kind of sad, that I can hear their voices, but we can't really be with them but is better than nothing.”

o   “The memories I have, of each country I’ve been through and each person I’ve interacted with shapes my views of home and the values I uphold. Every one of those experiences has really shaped my growth and the person I am today- and it gives me a broader perspective which has benefited my work and study. I don't see problems or challenges from just one angle, but I see it from different perspectives, so I can be more creative in finding solutions.”

When I asked Motaz to describe his personality, he was quick to emphasise his relationships and community advocacy. He emphasized his positive and optimistic mentality and commitment to continual personal develop:

o   “A son, a brother, a proud refugee, an activist, a passionate and kind person.”

o   “I'm a hard person to silence, because I speak my mind.”

o   “I’m optimistic, energized and smiley - this is what people say.

o   “Personality is not just a fixed thing, because for me, there's those attitudes that I have and uphold, but they are debatable. So, if you present evidence, and a very good argument, I might change my mind, because I know that I'm not an expert in anything. There was a famous philosopher who said ‘the only thing I know is that I don't know anything’ and that resonates with me, because I'm always in a learning mindset, and I always try to think from different points of views and try to learn new things.”

o   “I don’t have the same personality that I did when I was 12 - if you always stay the same, that is a problem, because you're not learning, and you are not in a growth period. I think it's understandable, how most people, when they look at their old social media posts or jokes they made, they feel cringy.”

Motaz did not provide any specific incidents of discrimination during our interview, explaining how he isn’t a sensitive person and that if experiences weren’t beneficial to him, he has the remarkable skill of simply deleting them from his memory:

o   “It is difficult to identify racism and discrimination, because it doesn't come in one shape. Personally, I sometimes overlook incidents, because if it's not as straightforward as coming face-to-face and saying I hate you because of your color and your origins, then, I wouldn't take it as racist. I would just overlook it - I'm not a sensitive person. I think the goal here is not to let something define you. You see, I'm proud of being a refugee, but I don't make that my identity. So, if someone discriminates against me because I'm a refugee, or because of my color or my religion - that's their own problem. If you think everyone is racist, someone else will think that you're racist as well. They don't try to understand you, because you didn't try to understand them.”

o   “I can’t recall any overt incidents of racism, but that doesn't mean that nothing ever happened. It's usually that I forget them – if there wasn't a lesson that I can learn from an incident, then I just delete it from my memory.”

Motaz expressed his concern at the lack of representation in decision making spaces he has acces to, and how this has motivated him to increase his efforts to speak on behalf of marginalized communities:

o   “Sometimes, when I'm in the rooms I'm fortunate enough to have access to, when I look around, I find I’m the only young person, and the only person of color. And I have a feeling that I shouldn't be in this room - but actually there should be more young people, and more people of color in this room. There’s a lack of representation of certain communities, certain groups of people, like black, young people in this room. And the next time I will try to squeeze more people into the room, and even if I can't get them there, I will at least try to get their perspective into the room.”

o   “I am liquid and flexible. So, wherever you put me, I can go into the community there – like when we moved from the Eastern world to the Western world, when I was young – it was a big movement.”

Motaz explained his spiritual mindset of growing from every interaction he has with other people, and said that he felt most connection with fellow young activists, regardless of their chosen cause or passion:

o   “Activist communities, whether its politics, climate change or gender equality, I feel really comfortable around those people, especially the young activists – because their fire, passion and love of the topic, and they're always educating themselves. So, I feel there's so much in common between us. I think these are very important qualities in life, whatever you do, if you do it out of love and passion, it can guarantee your success.”

o   “I feel attached to every person I interact with, because somehow, they become a part of you. It’s a kind of spiritual mindset, where you learn and grow because knowing them, having those conversations and discussions. And the closer they are to you, the bigger that part is.”

o   “It's two-way relationship, in the Middle-East, when we are young, we call the people that we know ‘Uncle’, because when you call some someone your uncle, it's somehow putting them inside the circle of your family and your life. So, you are responsible to them, and they're responsible to you. You may call them an anchor. They may point out your bad things. You have authority over you, but at the same time, they have responsibility to you. If you need help, they will help you.”

Motaz explained how his noble passion for helping people permeates throughout his life:

o   “I would say my passion is helping people. People that are unrepresented, people under oppression, people who don’t have the knowledge or power to defend themselves, to speak out for themselves, and this is something which I have found very meaningful and rewarding,

o   “In my studies I'm doing Computer Science with focus and ethics and policies. And this is the part where I'm helping people, through regulations and policies that are upholding human rights, upholding values which are important to society, and making sure that the technologies we produce are not harmful. It's about putting people over profit.”

o   “You will always have a way of helping people, from a policeman, or a firefighter, to an artist, or a musician. Whatever you do, you will always have a way that you can benefit people and conversely, a way of harming people.”

Motaz had some interesting reflections on his choice of colours and symbols for his portrait and flags, which reflect his optimism through adversity and passion for community:

o   “Think about white and black, you can't have a light without having a shadow, and you can't have a shadow without having a light.”

o   “Usually, we associate black with a bad thing, but I love black, because it represents the confident and it represents strength from struggles.”

o   “Brown is mellow, optimistic, shiny and warm.”

o   “Red represents trust and love.”

o   “I love the idea of symbols, because when we see symbols, we don't think in the mindset of them and us.”

o   “A wolf would be the symbol for me, because wolves usually stay in the communities. They're loyal. They're so connected. You never see a lone wolf. A wolf by themselves, is a kind of punishment from the group, because it's much harder to survive by yourself. And I think it's the same in life, even if people say they’re fine by themselves, you can’t just stay locked in your house, eating noodles and not interacting with other people. Without other people on the planet, you won't survive.”

o   “We need each other to be stronger, and we need to be stronger for each other.”

Motaz's flag

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