Shoes connect Calgarians with Syrian refugees, Middle Eastern Muslims

Shoes and short video stories are tools a filmmaker and Calgary charity used to connect the experience of Middle EasternMuslimshalf of them Syrian refugeeswith a local audience Thursday.

Organizers say it's about breaking through stereotypes to reach a greater understanding of what we have in common.

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Organizer Salima Stanley-Bhanji is with Calgary Centre for Global Community, a registered charity.

She and filmmaker Eduardo Bunster travelled to Jordan and Bangladesh and interviewed more than 20 Muslims, including Syrian refugees over a two-week period.

"We were quite amazed at how open people were and how willing they were to share intimate details about themselves," Stanley-Bhanji said.

"Almost every conversation we had evoked tears. It was amazing and I think we walked away completely impacted by the people we met. That is really what we want to do here."

The exhibition displayed a pair of shoes, which people could try on if they wanted to, along with a video of the personwho supplied the shoes.

People who came to see the project, called 'under an umbrella we met,'experienced a physical and video connectionwiththe subjects.

Gabriela Arguello says she came with an open mind.

"I thought about it and I said, I'm going to be getting rid of everything that I think of right now and just go there neutral, go there plain, with nothing so that's why I put the shoes on," Arguello said.

"I wanted to come and learn so I could talk with knowledge."

Another participant, Jodi Perrin, says the project showed her how humans have more in common than the differences that exist.

"I thought it was beautiful," Perrin said.

"I thought it really showed how we are all so (connected) and how the feeling of separation is a problem right now. When you get down to it we are all the same."

For Stanley-Bhanji, being involved in the project helped her shed some of her own misconcpetions.

"In meeting these people, it really challenged my preconceived notions about who Muslims are in the Middle East, who refugees are, who Syrian refugees are," Stanley-Bhanji said.

"I think right now it is really important that we actually understand and know who these people are, rather than just the labels."

Organizers hope to take the project to other cities across Canada and the U.S.