How storytelling connects people

Stories have been around since the dawn of humanity and play an important role in connecting people. US exchange students Meher Sukhija and Uma Supatra-Campbell attended the Community Engaged Learning course From Literature to Life: Shared Reading at University College Utrecht, during which they read poems together with residents of Utrecht asylum seekers' centres.

Increasing understanding

There is growing evidence that reading together has positive and cognitive effects. Moreover, it can both improve personal well-being and increase understanding of others. Meher and Uma also have this experience. They read aloud at Plan Einstein, a meeting place for residents of Utrecht asylum seekers' centres, status holders, local residents and other Utrechters. As part of the course, students received reading tutor training from the Culturele Apotheek, a shared reading organisation. 

Poetry and song lyrics

"We not only brought in poetry ourselves, we also challenged the participants to come up with poems or song lyrics themselves," Uma explains. "These were not always in English, but then we simply used Google Translate. It turned out to be an effective and fun way to get to know each other and understand more of someone's background." According to Meher, texts that people bring in themselves help get the conversation going. "How people express themselves is culturally determined and we noticed that people felt comfortable with poems in their own language and from their own culture. This is how we found out that the expression I love you is not used in every country. In Azerbaijan, for example, they use a less abstract text like: my liver explodes for you. Those are nice topics to talk about with each other."

Not so vulnerable

Although you would think that asylum seekers are a vulnerable group, Uma and Meher did not experience it that way. "People had a really inviting and open attitude, which was very special. The location also had a music centre, where we very spontaneously sang together," Meher says. "I noticed that people approached each other easily and did their best to help each other. That made it a lovely place for me!"

New friends

Meher and Uma have since returned to California to continue their education, but their thoughts are still regularly in the Netherlands. Uma: "Asylum seekers are people like you and me, and I loved getting to know each other in a safe environment. I can also see how important art is for someone's well-being. It really feels like I made new friends and I would therefore love to do it again." Meher came to realise how important it is to take time to get to know each other. "When it comes to refugee issues, dehumanisation lurks. I realise more than ever how important it is to help each other. After the last meeting, a participant gave me a beautiful self-written poem. I still read that back often."