[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I was a child,\NI knew I had superpowers.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's right.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I thought I was absolutely amazing\Nbecause I could understand
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and relate to the feelings\Nof brown people, like my grandfather,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a conservative Muslim guy.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And also, I could understand\Nmy Afghan mother, my Pakistani father,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not so religious but\Nlaid-back, fairly liberal.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And of course, I could understand\Nand relate to the feelings of white people.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The white Norwegians of my country.\NYou know, white, brown, whatever,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I loved them all. I understood them all,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even if they didn't always\Nunderstand each other,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they were all my people.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My father, though,\Nwas always really worried.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He kept saying that\Neven with the best education,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was not going to get a fair shake.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I would still face discrimination,\Naccording to him, and that they only way
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to be accepted by white people\Nwould be to become famous.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now mind you, he had this conversation\Nwith me when I was seven-years-old.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So while I'm seven-years-old,\Nhe said, look,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so its either got to be sports,\Nor its got to be music.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He didn't know anything about sports --\Nbless him -- so it was music.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So when I was seven-years-old,\Nhe gathered all my toys, all my dolls,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he threw them all away.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In exchange, he gave me a crappy little\NCasio keyboard and singing lessons.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He forced me, basically, to practice\Nfor hours and hours every single day.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Very quickly, he also had me performing\Nfor larger and larger audiences,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and bizarrely, I became almost\Na kind of poster child
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for Norwegian multi-culturalism.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I felt very proud, of course.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Even the newspapers were starting\Nto write nice things about brown people,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so I could feel that\Nmy superpower was growing.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So when I was 12-years-old,\Nwalking home from school,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I took a little detour\Nbecause I wanted to buy
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my favorite sweets called Salty Feets.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I know they sound kind of awful,\Nbut I absolutely love them.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're basically these little salty\Nlicorice bits in the shape of feet.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And now that I say it out loud,\NI realize how terrible that sounds,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but be that as it may,\NI absolutely love them.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So on my way into the store,\Nthere was this grown white guy
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the doorway blocking my way.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I tried to walk around him,\Nand as I did that, he stopped me
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he was staring at me,\Nand he spit in my face,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he said, get out of my way\Nyou little black bitch,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you little Paki bitch,\Ngo back home where you came from.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was absolutely horrified.\NI was staring at him.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was too afraid to wipe\Nthe spit off my face,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even as it was mixing with my tears.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I remember looking around,\Nhoping that any minute now,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a grown-up is going to come \Nand make this guy stop.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But instead, people kept hurrying past me\Nand pretended not to see me.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was very confused\Nbecause I was thinking,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,well, my white people, come on!\NWhere are they? What's going on?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How come they're not\Ncoming and rescuing me?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, needless to say,\NI didn't buy the sweets.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I just ran home as fast as I could.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Things were still okay, though, I thought.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As time went on, the more successful\NI became, I eventually started attracting
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,harassment from brown people.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some men in my parent's community\Nfelt that it was unacceptable
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and dishonorable for a woman\Nto be involved in music
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and to be so present in the media.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So very quickly, I was starting to become\Nattacked at my own concerts.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I remember one of the concerts,\NI was onstage, I lean into the audience
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the last thing I see is\Na young brown face
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the next thing I know\Nsome sort of chemical is thrown in my eyes
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I remember I couldn't really see\Nand my eyes were watering
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I kept singing anyway.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was spit in the face in the streets\Nof Oslo, this time by brown men.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They even tried to\Nkidnap me at one point.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The death threats were endless.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I remember one older bearded guy\Nstopped me in the street one time,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he said, the reason\NI hate you so much
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is because you make\Nour daughters think
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they can do whatever they want.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A younger guy warned me\Nto watch my back.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He said music is un-Islamic\Nand the job of whores,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and if you keep this up,\Nyou are going to be raped
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and your stomach will be cut out so that\Nanother whore like you will not be born.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Again, I was so confused.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I couldn't understand\Nwhat was going on.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My brown people now starting\Nto treat me like this -- how come?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Instead of bridging the worlds, \Nthe two worlds, I felt like I was
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,falling between my two worlds.\NI suppose for me, spit was kryptonite.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So by the time I was 17-years-old,\Nthe death threats were endless
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the harassment was constant.\NIt got so bad, at one point my mother
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sat me down and said, look,\Nwe can no longer protect you,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we can no longer keep you safe,\Nso you're going to have to go.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I bought a one-way ticket to London.\NI packed my suitcase, and I left.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My biggest heartbreak at that point\Nwas that nobody said anything.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had a very public exit from Norway.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My brown people, my white people,\Nnobody said anything.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Nobody said, hold on, this is wrong.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Support this girl, protect this girl\Nbecause she is one of us.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Nope. Nobody said that.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Instead, I felt like,\Nyou know at the airport, on the baggage
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,carousel you have these different\Nsuitcases going around and around
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and there's always that one suitcase left\Nat the end, the one that nobody wants,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the one that nobody comes to claim.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I felt like that. I'd never felt so alone.\NI'd never felt so lost.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, after coming to London,\NI did eventually resume my music career.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Different place but unfortunately\Nthe same old story.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I remember a message sent to me\Nsaying that I was going to be killed
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that rivers of blood were going\Nto flow and that I was going to be raped
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,many times before I died.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By this point, I have to say,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was actually getting used\Nto messages like this,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but what became different was that\Nnow they started threatening my family.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So once again, I packed my suitcase,\NI left music and I moved to the US.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'd had enough. I didn't want to have\Nanything to do with this anymore.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I was certainly not\Ngoing to be killed for something
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that wasn't even my dream --\Nit was my father's choice.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I kind of got lost.\NI kind of fell apart.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But I decided that what I wanted to do\Nis spend the next however many years
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of my life supporting young people\Nand to try to be there in some small way,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whatever way that I could.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I started volunteering for various\Norganizations that were working
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with young Muslims inside of Europe.\N
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And, to my surprise, what I found\Nwas so many of these young people
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were suffering and struggling.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They were facing so many problems\Nwith their families and their communities
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who seemed to care more about\Ntheir honor and their reputation than the
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,happiness and the lives of their own kids.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I started feeling like maybe I wasn't\Nso alone, maybe I wasn't so weird.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maybe there are more of\Nmy people out there.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The thing is, what most people\Ndon't understand is that there are so many
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of us growing up in Europe who\Nare not free to be ourselves.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're not allowed to be who we are.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We are not free to marry or to be in\Nrelationships with people that we choose.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We can't even pick our own career.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is the norm in the\NMuslim heartlands of Europe,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even in the freest societies in the world,\Nwe're not free.