The Silence is Broken! - Em

Lena and I had one of the most exciting experiences the other day at our center, and I'm not sure exactly how to express it in words, but for us it was one of those moments that brought tears to our eyes, and joy to our hearts...

This story requires us to go back in time to August of 2008, when we had just arrived in Amman Jordan. After spending time in each of the sections at the YMWA, I found my resting place in the Weaving class. As I was being introduced to the students, there was one particular student, Hanadi, with whom I was told I should not work, because she is dangerous. All I knew about Hanadi was that she hasn't spoken in 4 or 5 years, she's about 19 years old, and sometimes she would push people or give mean glares. For the most part, I kept my distance, but Lena and I would always say good morning to her and try to treat her like all the other students. Recently, in the last few months, Hanadi has been making small gestures to communicate with us, such as an eyebrow raise, a head nod, a smile, a high five… little things like that. A few weeks ago, she had a henna-type drawing on her hand that was really pretty. So Lena and I told her that we liked it, and she smiled and seemed really happy. After that day she has been giving us kisses and hugs, and she has been helping out in the weaving class by rolling up the pieces of yarn that I cut for the students. One day on the playground, Lena pushed her on the swing and she was having the best time, smiling bigger than I've ever seen.

Now we can jump forward to Sunday May 17th. I was cutting yarn in the Weaving class at Hanadi's table when I heard a mumble from a voice I didn't recognize. I thought maybe it was Hanadi, but I figured I was just imagining things. So I watched her and waited to see if she was trying to speak… and then it happened! She said "Shu" to one of the other students, meaning "What". She called another student Habibi – meaning "My love". She told me to hurry up with my yarn cutting :) and she even tried out her whistle to make sure it still worked. Standing in awe of what was happening, I could barely believe what my ears were hearing. I asked her how she was, and with a big smile she said, "Mubsutta" – "Happy". After her initial testing of her voice, she was on a roll speaking with the students at her table like it was as normal as any other day. After I gained my composure and pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming, I ran and found Lena, telling her the unbelievable news. She and another teacher came running, and soon all the teachers were ecstatic, giving her hugs and kisses. She continued smiling and speaking all day, as if she were a new person!

Looking back to the beginning of the school year, I never imagined we would become friends with the girl we knew so little about. I'm so grateful we were able to witness such a change in attitude and especially to see her unlock the voice that's been hiding for all those years!