This is an annual event at the main library in a little arctic city. It was started some nine years ago and proved so successful that it was held every year. Called ‘Levende bøker’ it is a special day when library users can come to the library and borrow a living book for an hour. The ‘books’ are people from different countries and nationalities and cultures. They range from ages 16 and above. Many of the ‘books’ come from war-torn countries and are trying to find a new life in a peaceful zone. Other ‘books’ are trying to get a good education to equip themselves to get better jobs. It is quite an interesting experiment. People come in hesitantly and ask if they can borrow a book for example, on Somalia or Iraq or Iran or some other available country. The young Somalians and Iraqis and Iranians, Syrians, Uzbeks, Serbs, Russians joined by other nationalities, are sitting by a table, ready to be lent out. For a half hour or an hour, people get to ask them questions on their lives in their home countries. These young books get all kinds of questions and they answer them as best as they can from the information and knowledge they have within themselves. Many questions are on culture: people want to know what kind of food they eat, how youngsters socialize in their cultures, how marriages take place, and all the aspects of social life that most individuals find of interest. There are questions on the political turmoil in their home countries and these questions range from a mild curiousity to real interest. The objective of the project is to facilitate the city to have face to face encounters with the minorities living within their borders, and create a space where people can discover that they are ordinary humans trying to live their lives the best way they can. Young girls from different cultures talk about things that interest them and find a common plane to connect. People get the opportunity to sit together in a neutral environment, and find out that other humans are in truth, very similar to them and that their goals in life are even akin to their own. We need this so much to help societies survive together, co-exist together and come together to build up the towns that they make into their homes. The project addresses stereotyping and the misconceptions that exist around minority communities. It has the potential for widening people’s minds about ‘the other’ and turning around perspectives full circle. It treats each person as a book, a living book that you can read and learn from. It creates a great opportunity for those who are willing to participate and be willing to be loaned out. Because it is the opportunity for them to speak up and express themselves in societies where their voices are seldom heard because they are the minority voice. At these events, they also come closer to the people who have borrowed them and are showing genuine interest in their lives. Such moments create empathy, and fellow feeling. It is a deterrent to crime because the end results of these projects are creating inclusiveness and understanding (keeping in mind that many adolescent crimes are spurred by a sense of feeling unwanted and misunderstood). The curse of otherness can be kept at bay because borrowing a living book is a warm occasion of connecting. This is one of many projects that can be used to help humans connect better. It works for schools and educational institutions where young students get the chance to meet people of their own age and learn about the lives they led in their home countries. Nor is it one-sided.The project works as an eye-opener for the borrowers. Young people who live in peaceful countries learn to appreciate what they have. Thus it becomes a mutually beneficial project. Insularity is dangerous. It doesn’t teach us to treat people as they deserve to be treated. It teaches us to treat them according to the collective identity society has given them. Make time to borrow a living book – the ones that live in your neighbourhood. Chances are, you won’t regret it.
