The holy month of Ramadhan is back again, greeting us like an old sweet friend.  I love the fasting month, it’s the month of truly learning who you are, the month of Tarawikh prayers, food bazaars, going home home at 4 pm and a whole month that leads up to one of my favourite days ever, Eid!

Question: What is your favourite memory/thing about/of the fasting month?

I have two. One was finding out I was pregnant and the other was experiencing fasting with a new family 6 years ago, my Global Village family.

It was the summer of 2011 when I interned for the Global Village program in Lehigh University, Pennsylvania. It was a 6 weeks program that flew by so quickly but it was the best 6 weeks of my life. Towards the end of the internship, all the Muslim participants had to fast because of Ramadhan and the best part about this was that our non Muslim friends participated in fasting and praying with us.

It was so beautiful. Our friends from Spain, Germany, Italy, Panama, Israel, the USA and countless more wanted to learn the art of fasting and more importantly why we do it, so they participated in the routine with such grace, poise and respect that it has left such a powerful impact on all of us.

The experience was unforgettable, some kept asking ‘not even water?’, and I remember a few of them had to brush their teeth a few times because the thirst was unbearable. Mind you, it was summer, so fasting started really early and we could only break fast later at night. Long hours + Hot day = not so easy for beginners.

Still, the effort and participation was incredible. After we were done with work everyone would team up and cook together. Can you imagine, 100 over interns from 50 over countries under one roof voluntarily fasting and supporting one another.

From that experience, I realised that it wasn’t faith that united us.

It was love and respect that brought us together. It was love and respect that inspired our friends to learn about other people’s faith and identity.

Something which seems to be lacking today, I mean, have you been reading the news?

Despite all that is happening in the world right now I keep pulling myself back to this memory because it gives me hope that good still exists and it will continue to grow if we are kind, open minded and compassionate. Regardless of where we’re from and the colour of our skins, whatever that is trying to divide us humans can only be beaten through unity.

A bridge can’t collapse just because a screw came off as other things are still holding on to each other.

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Even though many years has passed since our  internship days, every time the fasting month comes back, I remind myself of the faces in GV that taught me this lesson of love, respect and unity. May we be stronger when we’re together, not when we are apart.

Ramadhan Kareem and Happy Fasting to all.