'We cannot appreciate what we do not understand'

When asked about bringing Muslim students to watch “The Diary of Anne Frank” at another school, Richards High School teachers Rahaf Othman and Haneen Alzoubi saw opportunity.

Othman and Alzoubi, who also graduated from Richards, teach in a diverse place. Their students work, eat, play, and rehearse together in the classrooms, cafeteria, courts, fields and stage at Richards.

So the idea of taking a primarily Muslim group of students to learn about a Jewish girl hiding from the Nazis did not seem alien.

“I think we all get along pretty well,” said Alzoubi, who smiled at the thought.

Before the performance, the Richards students ate dinner with the cast of students from Eisenhower High School. They were expressive and thoughtful about the evening.

“I would recommend experiences like this because it’s (beneficial) for students of different races to come together so they cooperate with each other and learn and prosper as adults,” Dena Almusa said.

“Not only did I learn valuable information about the Holocaust and how people had to live in awful conditions but I enjoyed the play at the same time. I loved the play. It was phenomenal. It was so breath taking and moving,” said Ali Mohamed.

Unity Club, one of the groups that attended the play, includes students from many ethnicities. “I chose to attend the play because I wanted to see the production of a great book,” said Paola Huirache.

“My junior English teacher used to tell us ‘we cannot appreciate what we do not understand.’ By giving opportunities to students to experience other cultures, we gain more understanding about those who are different from us,” Brianna Brown added. “It makes the world seem smaller and all of us feel closer somehow.”

Several of the Richards students expressed appreciation for the quality of the production.

“I loved how the actors became their characters. It made everything seem more real to me and that made the message more powerful,” said Brown.

Like others, Huirache also recommended such experiences.

“It gave us the opportunity to learn the struggles of another religion. Also, interacting with other people was a great experience,” said Huirache.

For Steph Nelson, the play brought the book to life.

“The play provided a visual that you can’t get from just a book. I would recommend learning like this to another visual learner like me,” she said.

The play also brought the topic to life for Heba Suleiman.

“I never really knew about Anne Frank except from (reading), but seeing it in person was actually interesting,” Suleiman said.

“I enjoyed the play very much. The actors were seriously amazing,” said Almusa.

“The acting and the atmosphere were really good. I felt very close to each and every one of the characters that I saw,” said Nelson.