From Alexandria to Amsterdam: Alumni Portrait with Farah Barakat

By Ian M Kenny

In early September, just as the weather in northern Europe started to change, I called two-time summer programmes alumna and MSP Scholarship recipient, Farah Barakat. Autumn is always a time in our office where we round off the previous year, and celebrate starting anew: it is our version of January, our own form of New Year.

While this year is different from most and brings with it its own particular challenges, I called Farah to reflect on her past journeys to join us in Amsterdam, and catch up on where she is, and what’s been keeping her busy.

Farah currently lives in Charlottenburg, a typically German neighbourhood in west Berlin. ‘Though there’s no wall here anymore, you can feel the different vibes in the two halves of the city,’ she tells me.

Farah and I are calling on Skype, me from my home in The Hague near the Dutch capital, and her from the heart of one of Europe’s busiest cities. Farah tells me that lively public square outside her window is a meeting place for the neighbourhood residents, people from across the world. While she is far away from her hometown of Alexandria, Egypt, she can easily reflect on her life before she moved to Europe.

‘Take me back there,’ I said, 'to September 2016 when you were living, studying and working in Alexandria. What was it like, and what motivated you to apply for our summer programme in Amsterdam?'

Farah shoots me a look that says, “where to begin?” She adjusts her glasses, swipes her hair away from her face, and starts.

‘In 2016, when I was living in Alexandria, I was working and studying at the same time. I was majoring in English Literature and Translation, and busy balancing my studies with my many jobs in the cultural sector. A friend reached out to me, from Brussels, and told me about the fully-funded MENA Scholarship from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Introduction to Sexuality Studies summer programme at the UvA. It came totally out of blue, took me by surprise. I was a literature kid, and found it hard to break away from that world. But I decided to embark on a new journey. Instead of worrying, I read the website, and thought “well, even though it’s a new field, I am interested in these topics: maybe there’s a future in this for me?” I felt immediately encouraged to apply.’

‘The Application itself was easy, even with the extra hurdles of applying to the MSP. I had the full support of the Summer Programmes Office, which took a lot of the weight off my shoulders. I had so many jobs in Alexandria at the time, and I was bouncing back and forth between them. I worked at a public library run by a private NGO in Alexandria, as well as for an organization offering courses on contemporary dance and ballet. I was roaming around this artistic and cultural field—I didn’t really know what I was getting into at the time that I applied, but I am so glad that I made this step. I was admitted to the programme and the MSP Scholarship, and my life completely changed. It was a turning point, academically, personally, professionally.’

When she came to Amsterdam for the Introduction to Sexuality Studies programme in summer 2017, she was immediately caught-up in life in the city. This was her first time visiting Europe, and Amsterdam felt particularly special: a small and manageable city, but with so much diversity, and so much to offer. People from around the world gathered at the UvA that summer, and she felt like it was the perfect place for her to be.

‘I could let go, start afresh: a place so tiny in geography buzzed with possibilities before me. I was able to discover myself, to start from scratch, and learn more about who I am, and present myself in a new way to others.’

‘The course was so special to me: I will never forget it. The part that left the biggest impression on me were my fellow participants. We were 21 students from 17 different countries, and our teachers—Marie-Louise Janssen and Laurens Buijs—accommodated us all, all our experiences, and viewpoints. The conversations that we had! When they asked a question, there were 21 different perspectives. It was eye opening on so many levels. It was an enriching experience.’

At the end of the course in summer 2017, Farah returned to Alexandria. Her mind was brimming with possibilities for how she could share what she learned, but her heart was in Amsterdam. She decided to make use of this and continued to offer workshops, host conversation groups, and run projects that opened up other people’s worlds to possibilities that they never knew existed. She screened documentaries and films to help broaden people’s understanding, and held question and answer sessions.

One particular example of Farah’s stuck with me. It took place in the library where she worked, which became a safe haven for like-minded people interested in the diversity of human sexuality.

‘At one Q&A, I introduced people to the Kinsey Scale, and asked them: where do you fit in here? Where do you experience sexuality? How is it for you?’ At first, she said, no one replied. But then slowly but surely, first a friend tentatively answered, and then some of her colleagues, and then the whole room opened up. ‘This was a huge moment. In Egypt, sexuality is still a bit of a taboo subject. It’s all very “hush hush”. This was liberating to experience all together!’

On a more personal note, Farah also wrote a collection of poetry, Body Beyond Borders, tying together her literary roots with her newfound curiosity in sexuality studies. ‘Sexuality can be combined with everything! And how we experience sexuality and our bodies in language is a fascinating intersection for me. When I write in English or in Arabic, I experience myself—and the world around me—in different ways. My body changes, and so does my perception. This collection was my way of expressing and cataloguing that experience.’

That year after attending the Introduction to Sexuality Studies course, Farah couldn’t get Amsterdam or the programme out of her mind. She realized that she had just skimmed the surface of her interest in the topic, and while she was putting the knowledge into practice, was hungry for more.

Farah applied for our Advanced Summer Institute on Sexuality, Culture and Society in summer 2018, and was awarded the MSP Scholarship a second time, giving her a major opportunity to cement and expand her knowledge.

‘I was so excited to return! The Advanced course was definitely advanced. Participants came from across the world, and I learned so much from them. We had healthcare professionals, PhD candidates, and activists all in the same room together who had been working in this field for years, sometimes decades. I’ll also never forget our module topics or coordinators. I was so glad that the module on Sexuality and Religion was included. One of the things I miss in sexuality studies education in its often Western-centric context is the fact that for those of us in the Global South, religion is the main force that we have to deal with in relation to sexuality, and how we live and express it.’

‘Diane DiMauro, the Academic Director of the programme, has a beautiful and enrapturing way of speaking to you. Even in class, in a group of 17, when she spoke to me it was like I was the only person in the room. I felt supported, and encouraged to continue to mix sexuality studies with everything that I could: philosophy, literature… the possibilities are endless. We saw that in the Institute Cinematique, which ended each day of the final week of the programme. Robert Sember guided us through four different films from totally different countries and contexts that showed sexuality in its broad and beautiful range. We discussed, debated, and were impacted by what we saw on the screen, and it was the perfect way to summarize our experience all together.’

I asked Farah to give me a snapshot of her time in Amsterdam: ‘When I say the word “Amsterdam”, what is the image that comes first to mind, that will stay with you whenever you recall your time spent studying here?’

She paused. It was clear she had many, and a smile grew on her face as she landed on one.

‘One of my fellow classmates, Lou, celebrated her birthday on the 4th of July. A small group of us decided to rent a little boat and take to the canals. The water was shimmering in the sun as we steered our way through the maze of canals and waterways. We got lost and lost-again so many times, and none of it mattered: we were together, talking, laughing, sharing our lives with each other, a collection of people all interested in the same things from different perspectives from all over the world.’

When Farah got back to Egypt the second time, she wrote a final paper for the advanced programme that was included in a variety of different publications, both popular and academic. She wrote about homoeroticism in homophobic communities, using Egypt as a case study. After taking the Advanced Summer Institute, she finally felt able to write more authoritatively on the subject. She also was motivated to apply for a Master’s programme at the University of Potsdam in Berlin. Now, she’s already in her second year of the Master’s and filling her schedule with courses on sexuality, gender, and feminism. Professor from her time in Amsterdam helped her apply by writing letters of recommendation on her behalf. That speaks, I think, to the special community we have built together here in Amsterdam: at once local and international, and though temporary when all together, bound by friendships and common passions for life.

Farah is, true to form, busy outside of school as well. She’s taken on a part-time job at ICWE as a researcher and database coordinator. She is also an intern at Hudara, an NGO that believes that the “foundation for a peaceful and just future is one where people feel mentally well, respected in diverse ways of life, build actions on equal partnerships globally, and jointly act against the dangers of climate change”. Farah helps organize events mostly for the NGO team in Berlin to help them come together to do their important work. Hudara operates in a variety of countries in the Global South in communities that need it most, and works at the intersection of climate change and mental health, promoting and encouraging the betterment of both.

Knowing Farah, I can’t help but think that she’s landed in the perfect situation. Though “landing” implies that she was lucky: but Farah has worked for everything she’s accomplished, and builds communities around her while doing so.

I asked Farah a final question. ‘Do you have any goals or projects on the horizon?’ It’s obvious to me, and anyone who knows her, that she always has a vision, and a plan, and works hard to achieve it. She laughs good-naturedly and replies in her warm, charismatic way. 'Ian, there’s one goal that I can’t get out of my head. Sometime, sooner or later, I will come back to Amsterdam for a PhD. I don’t know exactly when that will be, but it doesn’t matter. I know that I will be back. I can feel it.”