Vendors
Page 6
No Longer H om eless
by Maddy Brown-Clark
Zaina
A time ago I had no home
I slept in cardboard castles
I roamed the street
For something to eat
And I was often hassled
On lonely nights
I slept alone with no way
To keep warm
And after dark in Lilac Park
I slept on a bed of grass
There were clouds in my head
And voices too
I didn’t know what to do
But I finally got some help
And I’m no longer homeless
I didn’t lose hope
And even though I’m low income
It’s so much better
Than the street
In my shared housing safe,
Clean kingdom.
BY LEONORA KO
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aina is only 19 years old, but she
already has a bucket list “to go scuba
diving on a coral reef and to learn
programming.”
She also likes art and keeps original
drawings and writings in Ninja Turtle
notebooks in her backpack. One notebook
was the source for poems she read at a
recent Street Roots vendor poetry slam.
Another notebook holds clothing designs
for long-sleeved tops and pants. Perusing
her notebook, Zaina explained her designs:
“I had to put bubbles on a shirt. I just had
to. It’s cute.” She points out some pajamas
with stars, a shirt with marine life and
another with fruit patterns. “That’s a smiley
face. A smiley face made out of fruit.”
She designed the clothing with her
religion, Islam, in mind.
“You’re only allowed to show your
hands and your face,” she said,
“which is really hard in the
summer! Wherever you’re
shopping for clothes, it can
sometimes be difficult because a
lot of girls want to wear short
shorts and tank tops.
“There are so
many times when
it’s tempting to
want to put on a
T-shirt. Or go
down to one of
the water
fountains and
try and get
this wet,”
she said,
pointing
to the
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6 7
Street Roots • September 8-14, 2017
hijab on her head.
But staying true to her religion is
important to Zaina, who was born and
raised Muslim.
“Of course, that’s something I still
pursue. I’m not going to let anybody break
that. I mean, I can be pretty stubborn
sometimes. I’ll admit it.”
Zaina said she lived a sheltered life, with
private schools and people around her who
provided a buffer to the outside world. But
in late July, she left home in the middle of
the night with what she could carry on her
back.
“I should have done it as soon as I turned
18,” she said. “There was a lot of tension at
home. (Now) I don’t have to worry about
how or what I do is going to affect
somebody else. Now it’s only going to affect
me, and I can make my own choices. And
sometimes I make a stupid choice, but I did
it myself. I answer to myself.”
Living on the street in Portland has been
an eye-opener.
“Now that I’m flung into it, I’m a little
behind. Gotta catch up. Keep Portland
weird? Don’t worry, it’s weird enough.
It’s beyond weird,” Zaina said,
laughing.
She puts her head on the table
when asked if it is a strange time
to be Muslim:
“Yes it is.
Especially when all these rumors haven’t
died down yet. You know, the rumors about
9/11 and whatnot. They say it’s our fault.
They say we’re the terrorists. And we get
our fair share of not-so-nice comments, to
say the least.”
Zaina said she hoped others would “get
the real story. Islam isn’t meant to hurt
other people. You’re supposed to be
peaceful.
“Just because one person does
something, it doesn’t mean all the other
people who share something with that
person are just like that person. If one
person in a specific class gets an “F,” it
doesn’t mean all the others in that class are
stupid!”
Zaina said the Quran and the Bible have
some similarities, “like the things you’re
supposed to do. You’re supposed to respect
your elders. Respect other people. Don’t
attack unless you absolutely have to. Try to
resolve it peacefully. Violence is the last
resort. There are a lot of stereotypes that
are incorrect.”
Now Zaina is fighting Muslim stereotypes
one smile at a time.
“You try to be calm, useful, help people
out if you can,” Zaina said. “Even something
as simple as a smile can go a long way. I’ve
seen it standing on the corner, selling
Street Roots. You get to see a lot of people.
Hey, who doesn’t want to smile at somebody
and get a smile back?”
Through Street Roots, Zaina has found a
surrogate family and her first job. When
asked about the future, Zaina said, “I
used to be able to figure that out, but
with everything - it could go every
possible way.”
For now, her surrogate family and
nonprofit staff regularly check in on Zaina
see how she’s doing.
And if she is having a bad day, Zaina said,
she falls back on the things that she has
discovered are important to her: “I
sometimes just walk around, write some
more, draw - or go eat some chocolate!”
by Elizabeth Considine