SWAMPSCOTT — If you ask Keli Khatib, chair of S.U.R.E. (Swampscott Unites, Respects, Embraces) Diversity, or award-winning poet Enzo Silon Surin, it’s time to start talking about identity and how it shapes our political environment.
The organization has been eager to spread the word about its upcoming event, “The Ocean Has No Borders: Celebrating Community Through Poetry and Stories,” which will take place on April 26 at the Lynn Museum, with Surin leading each discussion. Groups of youth and adults will convene from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Khatib spoke on Monday morning about the upcoming event and the impact she hopes it leaves behind in those who attend.
“I hope these events are a beginning,” Khatib said. “The hope is that we see about two hundred people, but that might not happen… But it’s a beginning conversation so that we can start working together as communities.”
Khatib said one of the challenges in expanding these important social and political conversations is how people in today’s society “live in silos.” She expressed the growing concern about the isolation that comes with lives absorbed by technology and social media.
“This way, hopefully, it bridges some understanding for each of us,” Khatib said.
She said she hopes the communities and those who attend the sessions feel compelled to continue the important conversations individually amongst each other. “Maybe we can pull our communities together and do more events together; anything that helps us understand each other is a good thing,” Khatib said.
Khatib hopes for more events like these in the future.
She touched on how she feels there are hurdles in the way people come together to talk about the most important social issues we face each day.
“I think there are a lot of hurdles that we need to cross; I think we need to create safe spaces so that people feel okay talking about how they feel,” she said.
S.U.R.E. Diversity also has several events lined up for the communities of Swampscott, Nahant and Lynn. The organization will be holding an event titled, “Reclaiming Our Voices: Poetry, Identity, and the Power of Community,” with two distinct sessions. The first, on April 12, will be more adult-oriented and will run from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Lynn Museum. The second session on April 16 is geared toward a High School audience, and will go from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Lynn Museum.
