Marvin Hokstam

What’s there to rethink?

The name of the conference in Dublin was “Re-thinking anti-racism Practice in Adult Education” and from the getgo I wondered what we would be rethinking? Why would I rethink anything that has to do with racism? What’s there to rethink? Then I walked into the intro-session -fashionably late and looking handsome doing it- and met…

Read More

At the airport

Curacaolanean security guard is adamantly friendly: “Take off your jacket, your belt and your shoes” “My shoes as well?” “Yes sir. You’re wearing boots, so those have to come off” Shrugs Takes me four minutes to unlace my boots and off they go into the scanner Sho nuff, they get flagged by that static person…

Read More

Ukunwa diegwu

My Nigerian barber stopped cold mid-cut, to admire a girl who was walking out of the barbershop. I had seen her in the mirror, sitting behind me with her boyfriend. He was speaking to her incessantly, but she was looking around at the other men in the shop, like a lambchop in a skillet factory…

Read More

War child

Bel gaat Tommy of zoiets zegt een naambordje dat bengelt aan een touwtje rond zijn hals. “Dag meneer ik ben van warchild en we zamelen geld in voor kinderen uit Ukraine die getroffen zijn door de oorlog en het moeilijk hebben. Erg allemaal …” Ik ging toen maar los met speech over mensen die op…

Read More

Tommy of zoiets

Bel gaat Tommy of zoiets zegt een naambordje dat bengelt aan een touwtje rond zijn hals “Dag meneer ik ben van war child en we zamelen geld in voor kinderen uit Oekraiene die getroffen zijn door de oorlog en het moeilijk hebben. Erg allemaal …” Ik ging toen maar los met een speech over mensen…

Read More

Blessings

Some will say this is idolatry, but they will happily plunge into a murky river or wash their faces with stale shady water dripping into a basin, from the stalactite growing underneath the plumbing of an old, very, very old ancient building, and call that blessing. I call this being washed by my mom at…

Read More