During an English class for Yazidi women, I watched Khalo struggle to hold her pencil throughout the hour. All of the women were struggling - but smiling. In fact, the women were beaming with joy as they scribbled awkward letters and bulky shapes. These women weren’t discouraged by the struggle. They were just happy to hold a pencil at all.
A casual observer who may have walked in off the street would see the simple scene and never think anything of it. It would have looked like any other classroom.
But to me, watching the pencil struggle was so hopeful. Just like every other woman in the room, Khalo was never allowed to go to school and certainly never learned to write. Even tasks that are so simple and reflexive to us are so difficult for someone who's never had the chance to learn. These women have yet to develop the fine motor skills required to hold a writing utensil, but as they master pencil holding, and then literacy, their lives are forever changed.
Learning to read and write will help these women integrate in new communities, wherever they are placed (if they are placed). They’ll be able to fill out immigration paperwork, order prescriptions, help their children with homework, and a million other things that require writing.
I felt quite privileged to be in the room with so many amazing women and watch their pencil struggle.
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