Why people of different faiths are painting their houses of worship yellow
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0:01 - 0:03We live in a time of fear,
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0:04 - 0:07and our response to fear
can either be to contract -
0:07 - 0:09and attempt to guard ourselves
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0:10 - 0:13or to extend ourselves,
hold on to each other, -
0:13 - 0:15and face our fears together.
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0:16 - 0:18What is your instinct?
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0:19 - 0:21What do you see more of in the world?
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0:22 - 0:24The problem with the first approach
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0:24 - 0:27is that in our mounting isolation,
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0:27 - 0:29we divide ourselves from others.
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0:29 - 0:32Our sense of isolation grows,
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0:32 - 0:34because our imagination
goes into overdrive -
0:34 - 0:37about the people and the spaces
that we no longer engage with. -
0:37 - 0:41Our sense of otherness grows,
and we lose empathy. -
0:43 - 0:45Today I'm going to tell you
about a group of people -
0:45 - 0:47that took the global
challenge of terrorism -
0:47 - 0:52and began creating spaces
where strangers connect in solidarity. -
0:53 - 0:57My own obsession with what I see
as irrational divisions began as a child. -
0:58 - 1:02As a fourth-generation
Kenyan Muslim of Indian origin, -
1:02 - 1:04it bothered me that in four generations,
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1:04 - 1:06there wasn't a single
marriage in my family -
1:06 - 1:08outside of my small religious community.
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1:09 - 1:11And I wondered what that was about.
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1:12 - 1:13Was it fear?
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1:13 - 1:15Was it racism?
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1:16 - 1:18Was it cultural preservation?
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1:19 - 1:21Did it have something
to do with colonialism? -
1:22 - 1:26Certainly, we didn't share a lot
of the same public spaces with others. -
1:28 - 1:31These divisions bothered me deeply,
and they drove my career choices. -
1:32 - 1:37When I was 20, the US embassies
in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed. -
1:39 - 1:41A year later, I was on my way
to the Middle East -
1:41 - 1:43to study conflict resolution.
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1:44 - 1:45And then from that point on,
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1:45 - 1:49it wasn't very hard for me
to find insecure environments to work in, -
1:49 - 1:51because the world was quickly shifting
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1:51 - 1:53in what we now know
as the time of terrorism. -
1:54 - 1:57I was in Washington, DC
when 9/11 happened, -
1:57 - 2:01and then I moved back home
to Kenya to work with refugees -
2:01 - 2:03and then later worked in Pakistan
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2:03 - 2:04and in Afghanistan.
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2:06 - 2:09In all of these places, what I noticed
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2:09 - 2:11was how important physical spaces are
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2:11 - 2:14to making us feel safe
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2:14 - 2:15and well
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2:15 - 2:16and like we belong.
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2:18 - 2:21In 2013, I came back home
to Nairobi from Afghanistan. -
2:23 - 2:26Al-Shabaab operatives
had besieged Westgate shopping center, -
2:26 - 2:30killing 67 people
in a day of utter horror. -
2:32 - 2:34Soon after that,
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2:34 - 2:36I could see how Nairobi
was beginning to change, -
2:36 - 2:41and it was beginning to feel
more like the fear and terror-weary -
2:41 - 2:44and war-torn cities that I had worked in.
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2:45 - 2:49And Nairobi continues to grow
in fear-driven ways. -
2:49 - 2:52We see more walls, more barriers,
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2:52 - 2:53more security.
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2:54 - 2:56And like other parts of the world,
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2:56 - 3:00we are experiencing
an erosion of human connection. -
3:00 - 3:03Divisions along
religious lines are deepening, -
3:03 - 3:07and we're doubting more and more
how much we have in common. -
3:09 - 3:10We are at a pivotal time
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3:10 - 3:13when we need to restore
our confidence in humanity -
3:13 - 3:16and stand boldly and visibly together.
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3:18 - 3:21So in 2014, I brought together
a group of people in Nairobi -
3:21 - 3:22to figure out what to do:
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3:23 - 3:28public intellectuals, diplomats,
artists, development workers. -
3:29 - 3:32And the group articulated
our challenge as threefold: -
3:33 - 3:37one, to reclaim the city
from the narrative of terrorism -
3:37 - 3:40and back into the hands
of the people that live there; -
3:40 - 3:44two, introduce a language
beyond race, tribe or religion -
3:44 - 3:48that would help us
transcend our differences; -
3:48 - 3:52and three, provide a gesture
that would help restore empathy -
3:52 - 3:55and conversation and trust.
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3:57 - 3:59One of the people in this group
was an artist and architect, -
4:00 - 4:01Yazmany Arboleda.
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4:02 - 4:05He and I have collaborated
in other parts of the world -
4:05 - 4:06over many years.
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4:06 - 4:08He has a history
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4:08 - 4:11of disrupting urban environments
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4:11 - 4:12and making strangers connect
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4:12 - 4:15in incredible, beautiful
and spectacular ways. -
4:17 - 4:19He had an idea.
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4:19 - 4:22The idea was to unite people
of different faiths -
4:22 - 4:25by getting them to paint
each other's houses of worship, -
4:25 - 4:29mosques, temples, synagogues, churches,
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4:29 - 4:31paint them yellow
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4:31 - 4:32in the name of love.
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4:34 - 4:37By focusing on icons of faith,
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4:38 - 4:42we would get people to reexamine
the true essence of their faith, -
4:42 - 4:45the common belief that we share
in kindness, generosity and friendship. -
4:47 - 4:50By creating pathways
between houses of worship -
4:50 - 4:51within one neighborhood,
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4:51 - 4:53we would create islands of stability
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4:53 - 4:55and networks of people
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4:55 - 4:57that could withstand threats.
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4:58 - 5:02And neighbors, by picking up
a paintbrush with other neighbors, -
5:03 - 5:05would engage not just with their heads
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5:05 - 5:07but with their hands
and with their hearts. -
5:08 - 5:11And the painted buildings would become
sculptures in the landscape -
5:11 - 5:14that speak of people
from very different backgrounds -
5:14 - 5:15that stand together.
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5:18 - 5:20We'd call the project "Colour in Faith."
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5:20 - 5:24We loved the idea and we immediately
began approaching houses of worship: -
5:24 - 5:27churches, temples, mosques, synagogues.
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5:27 - 5:30Door to door, we went
to more than 60 rabbis, -
5:30 - 5:32imams, pastors and priests.
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5:33 - 5:35As you can imagine,
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5:35 - 5:36bringing these communities together
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5:36 - 5:40when prejudices are reinforced
by a global pandemic of fear -
5:40 - 5:41is not easy.
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5:41 - 5:42It was complicated.
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5:44 - 5:46We were confronted
with the hierarchy of decision-making -
5:46 - 5:48within religious establishments.
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5:49 - 5:51For example, with Catholic churches,
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5:51 - 5:54we were told that the archbishop
would have to make the decision. -
5:54 - 5:56And so we wrote a letter
to the archbishop. -
5:56 - 5:58We wrote a letter to the Vatican.
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5:59 - 6:00We're still waiting to hear back.
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6:00 - 6:02(Laughter)
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6:02 - 6:04And with other houses of worship,
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6:04 - 6:08we were told that the patrons,
the people that pay for the building -
6:08 - 6:10and the construction
and the painting of the buildings -
6:10 - 6:12would have to make a decision.
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6:13 - 6:14And then we came head-to-head
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6:14 - 6:17with the long legacy
of missionary and donor dependence -
6:17 - 6:20that so impedes
unconditional civic action, -
6:21 - 6:22and we learned this the hard way.
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6:22 - 6:24There was one community
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6:24 - 6:27that in our repeated conversations
would keep asking us -
6:27 - 6:29to appreciate them.
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6:30 - 6:32And so we would keep going back
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6:32 - 6:34and telling them that we appreciate them,
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6:34 - 6:36and of course,
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6:36 - 6:39if we didn't appreciate them,
we wouldn't be here. -
6:41 - 6:44And then we learned
painfully late in the game -
6:44 - 6:48that the word "appreciation"
is code for getting paid to participate. -
6:49 - 6:51And so we challenged them
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6:53 - 6:54and we asked the question,
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6:54 - 6:56"So what will it cost?
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6:57 - 6:58How much could we pay you?
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7:00 - 7:02And if we pay for your faith,
is it really faith?" -
7:04 - 7:06We started the project
asking the question, -
7:06 - 7:09"Where does your faith live?"
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7:09 - 7:11And here we found ourselves
asking the question, -
7:11 - 7:13"How much does your faith cost?"
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7:14 - 7:18But the most difficult issue
was the perceived risk of standing apart. -
7:19 - 7:23We had one synagogue
that flat-out refused to participate -
7:23 - 7:25because it feared
drawing attention to itself -
7:25 - 7:26and becoming a target.
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7:27 - 7:30Similarly, we had a mosque
that also feared becoming a target. -
7:32 - 7:33And these fears are justified.
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7:35 - 7:41And yet, there were 25 houses of worship
that pledged to participate. -
7:41 - 7:47(Applause)
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7:47 - 7:51These bold leaders took the gesture
and reinforced it with their own meaning. -
7:51 - 7:54For some, it was to tell the world
that they're not terrorists. -
7:55 - 7:59For others, it was to welcome people
through their doors to ask questions. -
8:00 - 8:01And for some, it was to bridge the gap
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8:02 - 8:04between the older
and the younger generation, -
8:04 - 8:08which by the way is something that
many faiths are grappling with right now. -
8:08 - 8:12And for some it was simply
to build neighborhood solidarity -
8:12 - 8:14in advance of feared election violence.
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8:16 - 8:17When asked why yellow,
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8:17 - 8:20one imam beautifully said,
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8:20 - 8:22"Yellow is the color of the sun.
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8:22 - 8:25The sun shines on us all equally.
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8:25 - 8:26It does not discriminate."
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8:27 - 8:30He and others spread the word
through their congregations -
8:30 - 8:31and over the radio.
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8:31 - 8:34Municipal government officials
stepped forward and helped -
8:34 - 8:38with permits and with convening
civil society organizations. -
8:38 - 8:42A paint company donated
a thousand liters of yellow paint -
8:42 - 8:46mixed especially for us
in what they now call "optimistic yellow." -
8:46 - 8:47(Laughter)
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8:47 - 8:52(Applause)
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8:52 - 8:55And a poetry collective
joined forces with a university -
8:55 - 8:58and hosted a series of tweet chats
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8:58 - 9:00that challenged the nation
on issues of faith, -
9:00 - 9:02our faith not just
in the context of religion, -
9:02 - 9:06but our faith in politicians
and tribe and nation, -
9:06 - 9:10our faith in the older generation
and in the younger generation. -
9:11 - 9:15And then Colour in Faith
was launched at a gallery event -
9:15 - 9:19that invited an incredible mix
of gallerygoers -
9:19 - 9:23and religious leaders
and artists and businesspeople. -
9:24 - 9:26Already, even before
picking up a paintbrush, -
9:26 - 9:30we had accomplished so much
of the conversation and connection -
9:30 - 9:32that we had hoped for.
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9:33 - 9:35And then we began to paint.
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9:38 - 9:40Muslims stood by Christians
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9:40 - 9:43and atheists and agnostics and Hindus
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9:43 - 9:46and painted a mosque yellow.
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9:50 - 9:54And then they all came together again
and painted a church yellow, -
9:55 - 9:57and then another mosque,
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9:57 - 9:58and then another church.
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10:00 - 10:02Poets and musicians
performed while we painted. -
10:03 - 10:05We painted in Nairobi,
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10:05 - 10:07and then we painted in Mombasa.
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10:09 - 10:13The local and international press
did features on Colour in Faith -
10:13 - 10:16in English and French and Swahili
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10:16 - 10:18and Spanish and Somali.
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10:18 - 10:23CNN highlighted Colour in Faith
as a way of bringing communities together. -
10:26 - 10:28And our social media platforms lit up,
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10:28 - 10:31connecting more and more people.
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10:31 - 10:34And these neighbors
continued to stay in touch. -
10:35 - 10:38There are some that are pursuing
politics with a platform of peace, -
10:38 - 10:42and we have communities
as far as Argentina and the US -
10:42 - 10:44and as close as Mali and Rwanda
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10:44 - 10:46that are asking for our help.
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10:46 - 10:47And we would love to help.
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10:48 - 10:52It's our dream that this project,
this idea, spreads across the world, -
10:52 - 10:54with or without our support.
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10:55 - 11:00Colour in Faith is literally highlighting
those who mean well in yellow. -
11:01 - 11:04Colour in Faith is binding
neighborhoods together, -
11:04 - 11:06and it's our hope
that when threats come knocking, -
11:06 - 11:08they will collectively
sift fact from rumor -
11:08 - 11:10and stand in solidarity.
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11:11 - 11:15We've proven that the human family
can come together and send a message -
11:15 - 11:17far brighter and more powerful
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11:17 - 11:20than the voices of those
that wish to do us harm. -
11:21 - 11:23Though fear is infectious,
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11:23 - 11:25we are showing that so is hope.
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11:27 - 11:28Thank you.
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11:28 - 11:34(Applause)
- Title:
- Why people of different faiths are painting their houses of worship yellow
- Speaker:
- Nabila Alibhai
- Description:
-
Divisions along religious lines are deepening, and we're doubting more and more how much we have in common. How can we stand boldly and visibly together? Inspired by an idea from her collaborator Yazmany Arboleda, place-maker Nabila Alibhai and her colleagues created "Colour in Faith," a social practice art project that unites people of different religions by getting them to paint each other's houses of worship yellow, in a show of solidarity. "We've proven that the human family can come together and send a message far brighter and more powerful than the voices of those that wish to do us harm," Alibhai says.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 11:37
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for Why people of different faiths are painting their houses of worship yellow | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for Why people of different faiths are painting their houses of worship yellow | ||
Brian Greene approved English subtitles for Why people of different faiths are painting their houses of worship yellow | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for Why people of different faiths are painting their houses of worship yellow | ||
Joanna Pietrulewicz accepted English subtitles for Why people of different faiths are painting their houses of worship yellow | ||
Joanna Pietrulewicz edited English subtitles for Why people of different faiths are painting their houses of worship yellow | ||
Joanna Pietrulewicz edited English subtitles for Why people of different faiths are painting their houses of worship yellow | ||
Joseph Geni edited English subtitles for Why people of different faiths are painting their houses of worship yellow |