Witness and Be Witnessed

Rabia's poetry witnesses both human suffering and transcendent love, refusing to minimize either reality. In found families formed through migration and diaspora, witnessing becomes a core practice and privilege. To witness means to see the full reality of someone's experience: the job they lost, the language they've forgotten and relearned, the family they left, the dangers they survived, the resilience they've developed. This witnessing is not passive observation but active engagement—asking questions, listening to stories multiple times, validating the truth of someone's experience even when it contradicts the dominant narrative of the host country. Found family members witness each other's grief, rage, joy, and complicated belonging. Being witnessed in turn—having your migration story heard and honored, having your survival recognized as sacred—is transformative for people whose experiences are often dismissed, criminalized, or invisible in mainstream society. This mutual witnessing creates what philosopher Audre Lorde called "deep knowledge." It becomes the basis for loyalty that transcends blood ties. You are bound to people who have seen your truth and loved you anyway. Rabia's tradition teaches that such witnessing is itself a form of prayer, a way of honoring the divine in each person's struggle.