By Auz Momin
“I believe that human beings connect with one another through story” said Anandi Carroll-Woolery, a former X Page participant and this year’s co-ordinator of the program. Stories written in the X Page Workshop begin with a word or a phrase to elicit memory. The images become a space everyone can enter using all their senses, in keeping with the teaching and philosophy of cartoonist Lynda Barry. Detailed memories are written down and form the basis of the story, which eventually becomes a live performance. The X Page Workshop opens a space for refugee and immigrant women to come together and empower one another through narratives. Newcomer women are invited to register for the next workshop by February 28, and all are welcome to see their powerful performances this summer.
Inspired by her firsthand experience of moving from Uganda to Canada at a young age, Tasneem Jamal helps give refugee and immigrant women the opportunity to share and validate their stories as an editor for X Page. Tasneem wants to create a warm, inviting space where women are encouraged to be creative and open. She has worked at several media outlets including The Globe and Mail and is now working as the Communications Officer with Project Ploughshares. “At Ploughshares, I contribute to the telling of stories, taking data and often complex, disparate pieces of information and forging them into a narrative.” Tasneem is also an accomplished novelist, and her latest book will be coming out in fall 2024.
Tasneem has been with X Page since its inception in 2019, and this year she will be a part of a team of several editors who will work with the participants as they create and refine their stories. When friend and fellow local novelist Carrie Snyder, who spearheaded this program, asked her to join, Tasneem “immediately thought of my mother, who came to Canada as a young refugee with three little children in tow.” She believes that if her mother had this opportunity to share her story, it would have changed the trajectory of her life, allowing her to feel like a part of the community and express her voice. She hopes the women in the upcoming X Page workshop “take this feeling – and the skills they have learned with us – wherever they go.”
Anandi, a first generation Canadian born in Ottawa, participated inf the X Page program in 2020. She moved back to her motherland, Trinidad and Tobago, at nine years old and fully embraced the culture and history there. However, at the age of 19, she decided to move back to Canada to pursue education and she felt “like an outsider for a long time, even with my Canadian birth certificate and passport.” From an early age, Anandi was passionate about writing. This, paired with her experiences of being an immigrant, inspired her to sign up for X Page. “I saw a Facebook ad in late 2019 about the X Page workshop and the idea of being with other immigrant women didn’t seem so scary.”
During the X Page Workshop, Anandi was able to absorb the knowledge and expertise from mentors and other participants, guiding her final piece, “The Virgin.” After the workshop, Anandi explained how it was a “magical, liberating experience” and thought her time in X Page Workshop was “like coming home.” To Anandi, “Storytelling is not just a mere recitation of facts - there are real emotions and victories and defeats in our life journey.” By sharing stories, it ensures that the trauma from survivors is not omitted or erased, and it allows for their stories to be heard and published as a record and testament to their lives. In 2021, Carrie Snyder reached out to Anandi and asked her to join the X Page team as a coach and editor. During the 2021 and 2022 workshops, Anandi worked with seven women to bring their stories into existence. For the 2024 workshop she will be working as the co-ordinator and is looking forward to “meeting new immigrant women and helping them realize their own potential and talents.”
The journey of immigrating or seeking refuge in a new country can be an exceedingly difficult and frustrating one. Sharing this journey is validating as it allows people to process and share their stories with others. The X Page Workshop creates a warm and welcoming place to share these stories.
Learn more about the X Page Workshop and register before the deadline of February 28, 2024.