2009 Summit and Book Launch
Hundreds of community members joined Jahajee Sisters for the launch of Bolo Bahen! Speak Sister! and for the 3rd Annual Indo-Caribbean Women's Empowerment Summit, several people made generous donations and countless others helped to get the word out far and wide. We are grateful for the support of our community.
The Launch of Bolo Bahen! Speak Sister! was the culmination of our 2009 Arts and Empowerment Program. It was also the first public event held by Jahajee Sisters that was open to our entire community. Prior to this event, we held convenings and workshops solely for women in our community. We received very positive feedback from attendees at the Book Launch, who proclaimed:
"I appreciated, and was inspired by the powerful and necessary voices of our women"
"The event was very powerful and meaningful"
The Book Launch was covered in several community papers and was aired on ITV, reaching beyond those who joined us at the Queens Museum of Art on June 19.
Below are excerpts from articles published in the South Asian Times and The West Indian, as well as a few photos from the event:
More than 100 people came out for the event and showed enthusiastic appreciation. “It speaks about the Indo-Caribbean community as a whole,” said a student from St. Johns University. “We’ve made a lot of progress and it’s just nice to see everyone from all cultures in the same room for a unified purpose.” Attendees found the showcase poignant and relatable. “One incredibly moving moment for me came when an audience member stood up, unsolicited and stated that ‘I have never said this in public before, but I am a survivor,’” said Shivana Jorawar of the Jahajee Sisters and a former Sakhi staff member. Jorawar added, “At that moment, I reflected on how witnessing our audacity might give other women the strength to be bold themselves.”
She spoke of the performances’ further impact on the artists themselves, some performing for the very first time. “As a part of the production team for the launch of Bolo Bahen! Speak Sister! I witnessed women growing in their strength before my eyes. Most of the women had never read their own, very personal poetry to an audience,” Jorawar said. “However, challenged with the task of broaching a topic considered taboo by our community, they all rose to the occasion. They empowered themselves by using their voices in protest and in celebration of womanhood. And, their words of truth, now documented in book form, will continue to empower others into the future.” (Written by Sudhir Vyas, Printed in the South Asian Times)
The Queens Museum of Art was filled with community locals of every denomination, passionately taking the women’s words into their ears, minds and hearts. The women took the stage ready to be heard and seen in alluringly vivid shalwars, bold faced, and standing in strength. This being the organization’s first formal performance, audience members were unsure of what would unfold. And as the pieces and performances began and concluded, everyone in the space became jahajee brothers and sisters. Artists continually transformed the stage from performance to performance, all vastly different yet centering on themes of empowerment, perseverance and humanity. The poems were performed in a variety of formats including music, song, movement, mother and daughter collaboration, and group collaborations.
The performances began with a collective piece by several members of Jahajee Sisters’ Advisory Committee. The performers traveled through India, Guyana and the United States, taking all audience members on their jahajee journeys. Attendees began in India searching for a loved one. In the last journey, a sister in the United States celebrated her multi-faceted identity while questioning her ancestral historical past. Further into the program, Indo-Guyanese singer Indra Seet and Indo-Trinidadian singer Rhia Ramdeen Ramoutar (who both contributed to the anthology) sang bhajans, filmi songs, and folk songs interwoven with spoken word. The singers collaborated on the poem “Picking up the Pieces,” singing as mother and daughter. Simone Jhingoor’s poem, “Miseducation of Me,” melded together 2 musicians, guitarist Eddie Arjun Peters and singer Ella Turenne. The seamless transitions between artist to artist catapulted audience members’ attention as guitarist, singer and poet wailed their sorrows of love.
The last performance centered on domestic violence and its effects on victims and survivors. The women banded together as “Warrior Women” who refused to be victims, oppressed and dehumanized. Shivana Jorawar, Jacqueline R. Latif-Scully, Taij Kumarie Moteelall, and Kavita Ramdeen transcended the stage to a battle ground. On their land they bonded together to reject misused patriarchal power. Shivana Jorawar and Kavita Ramdeen moved their words into movement in the waged war against injustice. Using their movements and their voices as their tools, Shivana and Kavita raised their fists, arms, and heads high as they spun us all into non-violent warriors. (Written by Shabana Sharif, Printed in the West Indian)
The performances began with a collective piece by several members of Jahajee Sisters’ Advisory Committee. The performers traveled through India, Guyana and the United States, taking all audience members on their jahajee journeys. Attendees began in India searching for a loved one. In the last journey, a sister in the United States celebrated her multi-faceted identity while questioning her ancestral historical past. Further into the program, Indo-Guyanese singer Indra Seet and Indo-Trinidadian singer Rhia Ramdeen Ramoutar (who both contributed to the anthology) sang bhajans, filmi songs, and folk songs interwoven with spoken word. The singers collaborated on the poem “Picking up the Pieces,” singing as mother and daughter. Simone Jhingoor’s poem, “Miseducation of Me,” melded together 2 musicians, guitarist Eddie Arjun Peters and singer Ella Turenne. The seamless transitions between artist to artist catapulted audience members’ attention as guitarist, singer and poet wailed their sorrows of love.
The last performance centered on domestic violence and its effects on victims and survivors. The women banded together as “Warrior Women” who refused to be victims, oppressed and dehumanized. Shivana Jorawar, Jacqueline R. Latif-Scully, Taij Kumarie Moteelall, and Kavita Ramdeen transcended the stage to a battle ground. On their land they bonded together to reject misused patriarchal power. Shivana Jorawar and Kavita Ramdeen moved their words into movement in the waged war against injustice. Using their movements and their voices as their tools, Shivana and Kavita raised their fists, arms, and heads high as they spun us all into non-violent warriors. (Written by Shabana Sharif, Printed in the West Indian)
