Hear My True Story
Welcome to Hear My True Story, where ordinary moments become extraordinary through the power of authentic storytelling. Each episode dives into real-life experiences, blending laughter, tears, and triumphs that resonate with the shared human journey. Here, stories connect us, revealing the strength in vulnerability and the beauty of our collective truths. Tune in, and let the magic of true storytelling inspire and unite us all.
Hear My True Story
The Poet Challenging the Status Quo
What if political poetry could move you more deeply than love poems ever could? This week, we sit down with Muhammad Raima, a trailblazing young Ugandan poet who defies the norm by focusing on politically charged verses. Muhammad shares her inspiring journey from the intricate world of physics to the evocative realm of political poetry, challenging societal expectations and family pressures along the way. We explore her belief that political poetry can more powerfully connect with the present moment and evoke more profound emotions than traditional love themes.
But that's not all—Muhammad's story is also about balancing a passion for the sciences with a love for the arts. From transitioning from performing others' works to writing her own, she opens up about the challenges and rewards of juggling demanding fields like physics and mathematics with her deep commitment to poetic expression. Delve into her philosophical musings on genetic predispositions, the impact of dark poetry, and her ambitious dreams of making a mark in the political arena, including her aspiration to one day lead the UN. This episode is a testament to the power of perseverance, self-belief, and the courage to carve out your own unique path in life.
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The episode you're about to listen to is a special collaboration between Ugandan Art Speaks Out and the Hear my True Story podcast. In this series, young poets from Uganda, east Africa, share their personal stories, dreams and what inspired them to become poets. At Hear my True Story, we team up with like-minded podcasts to bring these untold stories to the world. We hope you enjoy this wonderful episode brought to you by Hear my True Story and Ugandan Art Speaks Out With you every week Hear my True Story.
Speaker 2:You see, her mama told her that she was supposed to be the best lawyer in the world. She was supposed to make more money than she could use. She was supposed to carry on the family's legacy. She was supposed to make her proud.
Speaker 3:Welcome, dear listeners, to another captivating episode of Ugandan Art Speaks Out. Today we have a remarkable guest who weaves words like a master craftsman, our brilliant young poet with a fire in her heart and a mind that challenges the status quo.
Speaker 4:I think you need to give me a synonym of beautiful, because I don't want to say this is a beautiful day again. I'd say that earlier. So, as a creative, please, please see. No name for beautiful. Why can't I get it right now any?
Speaker 5:I would basically say tremendous exactly.
Speaker 4:I couldn't think about that because I'm not a poet. Maybe could that could be the case. Is that the case? I don't know, but it's a tremendous day, tremendous day. It's another tremendous day with a tremendous person at this tremendous time. I suppose. Yeah, it was made for us. We're supposed to be here this time because they told me you're a student. Uh, yes, I'm a student. Oh, my god, I think no one is looking at us because they stopped holiday, holidays and something like that. I have no idea, but I think they did. Um, I'm glad to have you here, glad to be here too, I guess. Yeah, what's your name? Who are you?
Speaker 5:uh, my name is muhammad raima and I am a poet, though I don't do love poetry, I am a political poet what did you think? I think you are a love poet because that's what everyone literally loves hearing, whatever I'm not everyone.
Speaker 4:Maybe I met everyone, I don't know, because if you, if you told, if you told me you're a poet, um, no, nothing would come to my mind.
Speaker 5:Maybe she's a love poet well, I want to keep that clear from the start, like from the one go.
Speaker 4:So why political? Why not love? I mean, love is a language everyone can speak, not politics.
Speaker 5:Well, I really want to be unique and I feel like it's so cliche, but when you do politics it's more relatable. You see everything right now happening.
Speaker 4:Saying love is not relatable.
Speaker 5:Well, okay, I feel like it's a fallacy. I'd rather go with politics where you know you can be more hard, you know you can be more harsh, you can literally evoke more emotions in people and yeah.
Speaker 4:I feel like it's better. I remember it should be like two days back. Someone told me I'm beautifully weird. Isn't that harsh in love? I mean, how can you say someone is beautifully weird? Well, it's the truth, it's not harsh. So I don't like it straight up. I get you. So you are Muhammad, you are a political poet. So when you come to a decision, you're like I'm not going to do the other one, I'm going to do this one. When do you come to those terms?
Speaker 5:Well, I always get a new piece for every performance I have, because I always just forget the other pieces and I just get a new one.
Speaker 4:I think you write them somewhere. So if you've written them somewhere, you can easily go back to those notes, you don't?
Speaker 5:write them. No, I write them down, but I prefer to have something new for each performance. I don't like having old, I prefer to have something new for each performance.
Speaker 4:I don't like Having old things, I prefer something new. Why would you do that? I mean, if I attended your performance and I like your piece, I come to you the next day. I'm like oh, you said that line, but I've forgotten it. I can remember only one word. So all of us then were like we do not remember. What did I say?
Speaker 5:Oh no, I can remember those words. Like we do not remember what did I say? Oh no, I can remember those words. But if it's like a poem, I believe each day that passes I get better at what I'm doing. So why not test my limits and try something new? They're students. Are you in?
Speaker 4:a level? Yeah, I study from five this year, so I suppose you do history. No, so I'm just trying to get how you are interested in writing politics. You're not doing history. Are you doing literature? No, are you doing I cannot say divinity. I do physics, you do physics.
Speaker 5:Physics and politics totally parallel lines? No, like that's what I want to remove, Like that's a narrative existing in society that all poets are supposed to do history, literature.
Speaker 4:So I want to be that poet who does physics and math okay, yeah, I get you, so we get to you piece that is that you wrote about education. Yeah, that you performed in the the night experience. It's about education, and I read something earlier today that your mother, your mother, teaches you how to fly, but you can choose to fly your own flight. You don't have to fly her flight. Yeah, she can teach you to walk, but you don't have to walk her way. Yeah, so that's what you're actually talking about in that piece, is that? So, yeah, that's what I was trying to talk about, so, let's, let's get to talk about that.
Speaker 4:Yeah, you have your parents. Your mother is teaching you to fly a certain way. You're like no, thank you for teaching me that, but I'm going to fly the other way, so why would you do that? I mean, they tell us our parents are way wiser than us. They've been here for a long time. I mean, they know all these things, so maybe they are choosing the right thing for you. Why would you choose to go otherwise?
Speaker 5:Well, I think that that's a stereotype that really exists in society, like when you look at Uganda and like how our education system is built or how our parents are.
Speaker 5:They always expect you to become the next big doctor you know, to become a lawyer. If your girl is supposed to be a doctor, you can't do anything. That's not that because they believe some jobs are for men or some jobs are weaker than other jobs, but I feel like the society is sort of co-reliant in the sense of I cannot exist if there's not that market vendor who literally sells for me, who sells food to me. So I feel like if someone really wants to do something, they should literally go for what they want to do, because it doesn't serve purpose if you literally do what your mother would have done than living your own life. It's literally just living your parents' dreams, and I feel like we all exist to carry our own crosses, to do what we want to do in life, not what they want to do. So I feel like if it's really what you want to do, you'd rather go for it.
Speaker 4:The idea of individualism that you're talking about is such I don't know how to describe it. We cannot, I don't think we can exist on our own. We need other people. Yeah, like you've said, we need to live, to lead our own lives, at a certain point, to carry on with what we want, not what others want of us or they want us to do. That's what you're saying. That's what you're saying. But the situations where, like in our family, we are all lawyers. You either do this or don't do otherwise. It's this or this, no other way. We are all doctors. Yeah, so either way, they are forced to go that way. Yeah, so what is going to become of those people?
Speaker 5:well, I feel like those instances normally happen in like okay, like that's what literally happens every single time, but like, as I was writing that poem, or as I was reciting that poem, I really expected to reach an audience where, even if it's not you, okay even if your parents forced you to be something you didn't want to do, basically you yourself would actually understand and you now literally let your children do what they want to do because, like, there are some things that really can't be um, surpassed, like times when parents really refuse you and they don't give you a way, then you can necessarily live up to helping your children do what they literally want to do now to give you an example of myself.
Speaker 4:When I was going to do a certain course that I was doing at campus, my parents told me okay, you can do this course, it's your course, it's what you want, but after that course you're going to do our course. Yeah, you get that way, yeah. So they've given you a chance to do whatever you want, but after that, do us, yeah. Or they can tell you do ours first and then you can do yours after. What do you have to say about them?
Speaker 5:well, if they tell me to do theirs first, then I can do mine afterwards. Yeah, in certain circumstances I would literally try out theirs first, then I do mine. But in case I really enjoy what they are telling me to do, I just stick to it.
Speaker 4:Remember, time is not on your side, so you're going to do what they want first, and then you're out of time. You get to get a job and you're like, ah, ah let me live there.
Speaker 5:I believe time is always on our side. Like, even if you're 50 years of age, you can literally become a model, like it doesn't hurt, like spending a little extra years in school if you really want to do something with your life. I feel like it's if you really like something and you really want to get it, even if it's at the age of 70, you can still go for it no, let me tell you, if money comes into something, you can actually do away with what you want and you're like.
Speaker 4:But I'm getting money here, so you compromise your like. Let me stay here. I can't do whatever I wanted. Let me just lead on with whatever the world is bringing me. Because they tell us we cannot determine fate. Yeah, so I'd want something, but then my fate? I don't. I don't really believe in fate. But they tell you your fate is to be this. Yeah, so you start going into that. Whatever fate is is taking you. That's where you're going. You're living your passion. Did you call it passion?
Speaker 5:I don't know I feel like at that circumstance you're weak-hearted, if you can't go for it, like if you really want something you go for it. If you, if you feel like, um, you face money and like say it has taken you somewhere, then you really never wanted it from the start so back to you.
Speaker 4:You're doing physics, you're juggling physics, you're juggling uh, is it math? Are you doing math? Yeah, yeah. Economics, yeah, yeah, I couldn't do so. You're juggling pain and you're having poetry at the side and you're having all these other things. You're in sciences. You're going now to arts. How are you handling those two things?
Speaker 5:Well, it's a bit hectic, you know, like when you're at school, physics and math there's a lot of work and a lot of extra lessons. Sometimes trainings contradict, or sometimes just contradict, but as time goes by you really get used to it. It really becomes something that is very normal to you and very easy. So, yeah, it's a lot of work, but I really like poetry and I can't drop poetry, and I also really love physics and I can't drop physics.
Speaker 4:so I'm just going to find a common ground between the two and I keep going right, I need to get into your mind and see, I mean I'm going to write a piece, how do I start? Where do I start from? I mean, I cannot think, I cannot. Okay, I started to. Um, I was trying to write a piece. I'm like, well, if people are writing poetry, right, and I, I wrote the first word. I stopped from there. I couldn't think beyond that. How do you do that? And it's politics at peace. How did you get to do that? How did you get to write a whole piece?
Speaker 5:Well, the first time I actually did poetry, the first two years I did poetry, I literally never recited any of my pieces, because I never did use to write pieces, because I really thought that I was, I think, a performance poet, something like that. I didn't think I could write anything. So I had a friend who used to write pieces, so I would always perform her pieces. But as time went by I actually tested myself. I was like I had a friend who did both of the things and I was like why can't I do what she can do? Like we are all born equal, we literally go to the same school, we're in the same class, so why can't I literally do what?
Speaker 4:she does. I told you we're not born equal. I cannot write a thing. Well, we are born equal.
Speaker 5:It's just you who believes that you're not born equal, but we are all born equal.
Speaker 4:Like the same brain you have. It's just like so I don't think so. I do not think so because I mean the brains. It's connected with genes and stuff like that, from both of your parents, so your parents.
Speaker 5:Are that's right biology? I don't believe in genes you don't believe in. I don't believe in them what's what you believe in?
Speaker 2:I believe in physics.
Speaker 4:Come on, mama, you have to believe in genes. I mean, you look like your mother, so what is that? That is some physics.
Speaker 5:Yeah, it's trying to connect to anything I know it can't be genes like I don't believe in genetic or stuff like you're only good at this because your parents were good at it. I don't really believe in it, like you. What?
Speaker 4:You're incredible, unbelievable. You should believe in it. Oh no, so you have a friend who can write and you can perform. So I've learned something today you can actually be a performance poet and you're not a writer.
Speaker 5:Yeah, what, yeah, you can yeah, because that's what I did for my first two years and, yeah, in most instances I prefer performing other people's poems because I feel like I just feel more connected to their poems.
Speaker 4:So the first two years you're performing for someone, that person is writing political poets or whatever they wanted. Then you'd just jump whatever they wanted. She was really dark poetry. I love him already. He's the love of my life. I love dark poems.
Speaker 5:I really like dark poems.
Speaker 4:So can you remember any lines from the piece that she performed, or you forgot all of them?
Speaker 5:Well, I think there was a line that was children are born to carry on their parents' past failures. Yes, something like that. Yeah, there was that line.
Speaker 4:And that's true. You believe that? Yeah, it's true, I'm a Christian. The Bible says somewhere I do not remember that we carry the repercussions of the sins of our ancestors, like from the third and the fourth generation. So every time you're praying for yourself, you have to pray for yourself, for those sins, for God to forgive you, for the sins of what your ancestors did. But yeah, I mean, what is it?
Speaker 4:It's all that I want to's what I want to break. You want to break that? Yeah, I don't want to. I think it's religious. It's religious you cannot break.
Speaker 5:It's beyond our understanding yeah, maybe I might not break it in the religious aspect but I can change narratives in people's mind. Yeah, you get like it can stay in the Bible, the Quran.
Speaker 4:But yeah, but mentally, physically, we can go into that. Yep, your parents felt that this, like now, can actually beat it and be better than them. Yeah, you learn from their mistakes. So let's look at the future of your future, your future. Are you going to stay in political? Because now it's really getting tough for people those were trying to get into politics, either through the creative writing, through our drawings. It's getting a little bit tough for them, so you do not fear all that well, I literally want to become the director of the un.
Speaker 5:So I don't fear anyone. Big dreams, big like. I'd rather get shot I don't know something like that then literally walk away from politics, because politics is something that is very interesting, like you say, than done. Well, okay, for now I still want to be there.
Speaker 4:I don't want to shift let me, let me, let me get to know this. You're putting a point where you have to reconsider. You don't have trade politics all the time. Yeah, you can reconsider and you write something else.
Speaker 5:I mean, yeah, I could write something about climate change or gender equality. I could write about such topics, but, yeah, feminists feminists are tough people actually don't like this.
Speaker 4:Oh, me too I hate those guys.
Speaker 5:not like in the sense of I like that they're emancipating people, but I don't like feminism. Oh, me too I hate those days. Not like in the sense of I like that they're emancipating people, but I don't like the way they do it. Yeah, it's getting worse.
Speaker 4:I mean they're going beyond where they're supposed to stop. But that is topic for another day, when it's come back at us like you guys.
Speaker 5:Yeah, that's why I don't like telling people, because I'm imagining waking up one day and no.
Speaker 4:but you're political, so you can write that. I mean feminism, and feminism is already political. If you go into that, it's already political. So why would you fear such?
Speaker 5:topics. Well, because I'm a female first of all, so there'll be like question marks. But also I feel like when you speak about politics and when you speak about gender equality in a society like this one right now, I feel like someone who does gender equality is more opposed than someone who does normal politics, and I really want to become the director and you know, females have to back me up, like because I doubt men are going to back me up to that extent, so I hope you're already working towards that or else you're running out of time.
Speaker 4:You told me you can never run out of time.
Speaker 5:Yeah even at the age of 50, even 60, I could still go.
Speaker 4:Okay, I get your point. Let's talk about now something you're writing for us or you'd want to perform for us right now. You can just think about it. I have these lines already here well, I well.
Speaker 5:Should I just speak about the piece I'm thinking of that performing one? Yeah, okay, so I will do a piece about how gender equality is a joke. Yeah, that's what I can think about right now.
Speaker 4:That's what I'm thinking about right now. So what should be your first line?
Speaker 5:I'm just thinking Well, my first line would be gender equality is a joke, yeah and OK. I can't really think of it right now, but I'll go more into how. Um, even if we pursue gender equality as women and like we reach the level of men, we are just going to make men less equal than us, and yeah, something like that.
Speaker 4:yeah, if you make them less equal than the women, then it's their turn to to do what to bring in with a male? What male male feminism? How do you call that Patriarchy? It's already a patriarchy society, so if it's the women coming in, it becomes a matriarchy.
Speaker 5:Then it just becomes like alternating Every single time. We're going to just keep going up and down, and it doesn't make any sense. So I feel like the answer is just stay anywhere.
Speaker 4:This reminds me of the debates that, okay, women are always like men are. Women are always like men are raping us. Men are raping us. Men are also getting raped, yeah, but I never talk about that. They really never come out to talk about that.
Speaker 4:I don't know why they don't do that because men are supposed to be strong, as we were taught so if you're strong, you can't be raped, or you just have to take it like that yeah, you're supposed to take it in like that's what, that's what we all think, yeah, but men, they can also get weak, yeah, so that's what you're trying to break, that's what you're trying to make people understand that, well, men are also people. I mean children also need to think for themselves, that is, I don't think that is possible. If you love children to think for themselves, maybe when they've grown, when they've gone to a certain age yeah, I feel like when someone is at secondary level, they can't think for themselves.
Speaker 4:They, they can't make stupid. That is actually the level to get lost at secondary level. That's when you can actually get lost if you're not having any sort of mentorship. Yeah, because you're having all this peer pressure, you're having all these friends. They're talking about different things. Yeah, oh, they might be talking about things, not what people have told them, but what they are making up for themselves. So I think secondary level is the level to actually get lost. If you don't lose yourself there, you're good to go. What do you think?
Speaker 5:yeah, it's actually very easy to get lost from there.
Speaker 4:Because there's the Dolly Sciences, all these things.
Speaker 5:But career-wise I feel like you should do it yourself, because I doubt peer pressure can make you want to become a model.
Speaker 4:I've seen people who are like oh, my friend is going to do history, I'm going to do history too. My friend is going to do divinity. I'm going to do the same, because she's my friend. I can't do.
Speaker 5:You literally run away from those subjects, Like girls wanted to do physics, but they really just went there because of their friends. They literally run away because the workload becomes a lot.
Speaker 4:So some of them could have had the potential to actually do physics, but because of their friends See, that's what I was telling you you can actually get lots at that level. So when do they get to choose for themselves at the university? It's already late. It's already late. It's already late.
Speaker 5:From secondary level. You learn from your mistakes.
Speaker 4:If you can't learn from them, a life without mistakes isn't worth living, but we have to tell these people not to do away with their parents. They're going to do away with their parents. No, we shouldn't do it Like Mama told us. We can actually decide for ourselves.
Speaker 5:Well, I feel like you should just come to a certain concession, like you wear your parents things and what you want and you just put them at a level ground and you literally move on with life, but they say.
Speaker 4:I don't know who says that if you follow passion, passion can, at a point, land you where you're not supposed to be. Yeah, it can lead you deep in the hole. You'd rather choose where the money is. You chase that instead of passion.
Speaker 5:Well, the fact that you have reached there, that's fate, that's where you're supposed to be like, that's a fact so let's look at you in five years to come, as we come to a conclusion.
Speaker 4:five years, where do you see yourself? As a poet, the physician that you University? Big dreams, I told you.
Speaker 5:When I get there, I see myself heading the I think the school, I think it's a guild president, something like that for debate. I want to help their poetry club if they have any, I want to help them. And yeah, I see myself studying astronomy, because that's what I want to literally do.
Speaker 4:Are you already the head of your poetry club at school?
Speaker 5:Well, I'm a Form 5, but I'm planning to go for president. Okay, I see what? Which term is this? This is first term they elect in second term.
Speaker 4:I get it. So I wish you the best. I hope you get that position, because then you'll start building from there to become whatever you are. It was beautiful it to become whatever you are. It was beautiful. It was tremendous having you here. I might be forgetting your word it was tremendous having you here. We can't wait to have you again with a piece.
Speaker 5:About what, the next quality being a joke.
Speaker 4:Yeah, your last one is the people and your beat on here.
Speaker 5:Okay, so follow your dreams. That's all I have.
Speaker 4:Follow your dreams. People, good people, follow your dreams, and your parents too. Don't leave them behind, yeah.
Speaker 5:Yeah, I'm following my dreams.
Speaker 3:Thank you for being an incredible audience. As we wrap up, this episode of Ugandan Art Speaks Out. Remember that the journey continues. Rema is like a vibrant canvas, awaits new brushstrokes. Subscribe, share and let's illuminate the world, one story at a time.
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