Swampscott celebrates multicultural heritages

SWAMPSCOTT – When Kelli Khatib first moved to Swampscott more than 15 years ago with her Syrian husband and children, she wasn’t expecting to find other multicultural families.But she was pleasantly surprised. And Thursday night she and almost a dozen other international families celebrated their multicultural heritages with food, music and art at Swampscott High School for the town’s third annual multicultural night.View a photo gallery from the event.”It surprised me how many different cultures were in this small town,” she said.Khatib is one of the organizers of the night, which the The Swampscott Task Force on the Respect for Human Differences put on. The task force usually piggybacks on another school event happening around the same time. This year, the Swampscott High band and world-music drumming ensemble performed along with The SOS Big Band, a swing band from Rhode Island.The night gave ninth-grader Fatima Harara, who was born in Palestine, a chance to spend time with other students who were born in a different country.”When you think of Swampscott, you think of all Americans, so when you come and see different cultures here, it’s cool,” she said.She and her younger sister Amira offered samples of a Palestinian sugar cookie, which tasted much like the American version. They were chatting with ninth-grader Dea Hoxha, who offered tastings of an Armenian spinach pie, about how it’s tough to tell if someone was born in another country.”You can’t really tell what nationality they are just by looking at them,” Amira said. “But here we can celebrate all nationalities.”Other students at the multicultural night showcased their dual heritage, like junior Amshula Divadkar, who has roots in India and America.She said most days she lives in an American world, but on Thursday she dressed in the traditional saris from her father’s home state of Maharashtra and served Batata Bhaj (a spicy potato mixture) and God Shira (a sweet dessert made from cream of wheat).”Everybody is here showing who they are and celebrating where they came from, and embracing it along with their American culture,” she said.Amber Parcher can be reached at [email protected].