Taha Al-Abed unleashes his literary and artistic talent after burying it for years

Taha Al-Abed came to Sweden in 1998, for the purpose of education, and then chose to stay in Sweden. Taha worked in several areas, including providing psychological support to refugees, establishing and managing the Swedish-Palestinian Friendship Association, in addition to his work as a translator. Taha had a sense of literature since his childhood, but his father forced him to study aviation, which he did not want. Now Taha decides to unleash his literary talent, which he buried years ago.Taha Al-Abed writes emotional and patriotic songs in Arabic, in addition to writing theatrical stories. Taha seeks to create collaborations with many Arab singers and art companies. He also wants to create cooperation with Swedish directors to film the theatrical stories which reflect the cultural collision for the arrivals to Sweden. Mosaik newspaper sheds light on the poet and writer Taha Al-Abed to know more about him and his literary and artistic works.

How did it start in Sweden?

Of course, the beginnings are difficult in every new country, but the method I took to learn the language and integration was shortened in time. Where I resorted to reading books in Swedish, in addition to integrating into society through associations such as the Red Cross and Amnesty International. The life of associations in Sweden is unique.

How?

Sweden is the country with the most associations and the number of association members is more than the population of Sweden. This is through the fact that one individual can be a member of more than one association. The multiplicity and diversity of associations creates an economic movement in the country. From a social point of view, associations help a lot in creating relationships. So one can have a network, facilitate learning the language, learn about Swedish culture, integrate into society, and this may help you in obtaining a job. Therefore, I advise all those coming to Sweden to integrate into associations, because this will make it easier for them to learn the language and integrate. And when we talk about integration here, we mean integration while preserving identity. Because some believe that integration means becoming 100% Swedish, and this is difficult, and the Swedes themselves do not want you to become 100% Swedish.

Taha is a graduate of Aviation, in addition to that he studied to be an assistant pharmacist. He also taught several courses in psychological support at Växjö University.

-This country offers wealth to every person who lives in it, which is free education. The only thing I regret is that I did not choose education from the beginning. It is true that I attended training courses in psychological support at the university because I love this field and I like dealing with people and working with them, I absolutely do not like working with machines. But my real orientation was literature. Despite the fact that I had literary inclinations since my childhood, my father forced me to study military aviation even though I did not want to study this field. After that I studied to become an assistant pharmacist. When I came to Sweden, I did not choose education from the beginning because there was no one to advise me to continue education. But I think it is not too late, and I can go back to education and study again. So I recommend it to everyone. If you really want to succeed, go to education and self-development. Says Taha Al-abed.

Taha's work as a translator prompted him to write a book about the suffering of refugees, the book has not yet been published according to Taha.

- When I worked as a translator, I met many people and heard many stories that affected me greatly. As a translator, I could not talk about it. So the only way to get rid of that sadness I was feeling was to write, and I'm in the process of publishing a book in both Arabic and Swedish, about all these stories anonymously. Says Taha.

How did you discover your talent for writing?

I have had a sense of literature since childhood, as I used to write poems and thoughts. But I would write and keep them in my desk drawer. If you collect everything you have written, there is literary and artistic wealth. I used to practice writing as a hobby to satisfy my passion, and get rid of all stress and negative feelings. But now I decided to share what I write.

What kind of songs do you write?

I write patriotic and sentimental songs. The first song from with my lyrics was sung by the rising artist Ali Kassab in collaboration with Nader Mukarker, and it was released on social media platforms coinciding with the World Cup finals because it is about the World Cup. There is another poem about the journalist Sherine, who was killed in Palestine. There are many poems that have not yet been published.

What are your plans to show your literary talent?

Currently I have accounts on all social media in addition to other platforms where I display my work. In addition, I communicated with many famous singers in the artistic community, and there will be great cooperation between us. I also contacted Arab artists in Sweden, and it is possible that there will be cooperation between us also.

Do you write only in Arabic or do you write in Swedish as well?

Of course I want to write songs in Swedish. I also wrote a short story about the cultural collision, and there was a collaboration with a female director, but the project was not completed. I still have theatrical stories in the Swedish language, and I would love to cooperate with Swedish directors in order to film and bring these stories to life in order to benefit from them. In addition to that, the book I am currently preparing is in Arabic and Swedish.