I was born in Stoke-on-Trent in the middle of England, to a Palestinian father and a British mother. When I was born my father wanted to take me to Palestine, and he persuaded my mother and my mother’s family that it would be a good idea to migrate to the Middle East.
Since then, to be very brief, about half my life I have spent traveling or getting jobs abroad and the other half I have spent in the UK.
However, I first came to Swansea in the early 1980s and I came really to be near my 2 children who were both studying at Swansea University.
I remember the Grand Theatre used to put opera on even way back in the ’80s. I must say I love the theatre and in particular the opera. So, my first memories of the Grand are attending different shows and performances.
Currently, I live in Swansea permanently and I represent a community called the Palestinian Society of Swansea. Our organization is as welcoming as possible and we have a policy that states that anyone of an Arab background can join us. The last time I counted there are 27 countries that use Arabic as their main language so we’re bound to meet people from all over the world in our organization.
In the Grand Multicultural Hub, we want to help disadvantaged community members and promote culture from the Middle East as this is very much our focus.
I designed a whole programme about Arabic arts and culture.
For instance, I’m aiming to organise cinema sessions along with presentations about Arabic films and the industry. Whether it’s films that highlight Palestine, Lebanon, or another country in the Middle East such as Iran or Turkey. Turkey for instance has a wonderful cinema industry and all those things are available for us to share with Swansea’s community in the hub.
