Storytelling Across Cultures with Ishmael Beah

    On May 1st, Ishmael Beah spoke in a webinar about the impact of storytelling. I thought it was interesting that he talked about how storytelling can be implemented during the pandemic. Storytelling is one effective way to build connections between people and especially now,  since people are confined to their own spaces. Storytelling is one way to stay connected and return to the normalcy of life before the pandemic. 

Beah talked about what it takes to be a listener. "A listener needs to learn the ability to listen deeply and take stories in without judgment." I was really inspired by Mr. Beah and how he uses his storytelling to make positive change. For example, he talked about how he has been all over the world using his communication skills talking to commanders, soldiers about releasing children, and peacefully negotiating for children and women to be released from arm groups. 

One of my favorite aspects of his presentation was the story he told from when he was living in New York. He talked about his struggles being a newcomer and how most of his schoolmates did not know about his background as a child of war. To get to know him, him and his classmates played a friendly game of paintball. Mr. Beah shares this as one of his favorite memories living in New York and I thought it was so endearing how something like a game of paint ball could build such a strong bond. It shows how people and their experiences may be different, but when they intertwine, we can truly witness how similar we are to one another. The real takeaway of this discussion is that human contact is essential for keeping relationships. COVID came along by surprise and made us realize how essential it was to have contact as human beings. 

Now that our human contact with one another is very limited, Beah inspired me to explore that vulnerability and human comfort in storytelling.