My grandfather, my teacher of interculturality
By Soraya Mohamedi
Chairperson of Ubuntu Canarias · In memory of her grandfather
Voices of the World: stories in the first person
At Ubuntu Canarias we know that interculturality isn't always learned from books. Often, it's inherited from those who lived it before us.
That's why we created Voices of the World: a space where those who have lived that experience — or, as in today's case, received it up close — can share it in their own words, without intermediaries, to build bridges between cultures.
No single story speaks for all the others. Each testimony is unique, with its own context and lessons, and it is precisely that plurality of voices that gives this project its meaning.
Today we share the testimony of Soraya Mohamedi, chairperson of Ubuntu Canarias, who tells us about her grandfather and everything he taught her about respect, faith and living between cultures.
My grandfather, my teacher of interculturality
Some people don't teach with words. They teach with the way they live.
My grandfather was one of them.
He had a phrase he used to repeat, simple and direct: "Wherever you go, do as you see done." As a girl I heard it without giving it much thought. Over time I understood it wasn't just advice for settling into a new place. It was his way of understanding respect: observe before judging, listen before opining, accept that every place has its own logic and its own dignity, even when it doesn't match the one you bring from home.
I come from a family with roots in two cultures, and I grew up watching him move between those two worlds without apparent tension. He didn't talk about interculturality as a concept. He lived it, without needing to name it.
From him I learned that kindness and integrity aren't at odds with firmness. That you can be kind without giving up having your own judgement. That helping someone isn't an extraordinary gesture, but something you simply do, without expecting recognition or anything in return. And that not judging doesn't mean having no opinion — it means having the patience to get to know before passing sentence.
I especially remember something he used to tell me about respecting other religions and cultures: "Soraya, this is what Allah commands of a Muslim, it's not just my own idea." He didn't live it as a personal virtue, but as part of what his faith asked of him. For him, respecting others wasn't an option or a gesture of tolerance handed down from above. It was an obligation.
When he died, I understood it more clearly than ever. So many people came to the funeral. And what struck me most, then and now when I remember it, is that among them were people from the different communities that live together in Melilla: Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus. That's not something you see often. And it didn't happen by chance: my grandfather was respected and loved by everyone, precisely because of his way of being in the world, of treating every person with consideration, wherever they came from, whatever they believed.
Today, when I think about what it means to move between cultures without losing your own identity, I think of him. Of how someone can belong to more than one place at once, without that being a contradiction or a loss.
And perhaps that's the most important lesson he left me: interculturality can't be explained. It's practised, it's observed, and it's inherited from those who lived it before us.
A perspective to keep building bridges
At Ubuntu Canarias we believe that testimonies like Soraya's remind us that respect between cultures and religions isn't always taught through speeches: it's often passed down by example, from one generation to the next.
Her story reflects something we hold as an association: that interculturality isn't a theory, but a daily practice, made up of small gestures of consideration toward those who think, believe or live differently.
Listening to these voices invites us to look at coexistence between cultures and religions through mutual respect and knowledge of the other — just as Soraya's grandfather lived it, without ever needing to name it.
Editorial note. This testimony has been published with the authorisation of its author, Soraya Mohamedi, chairperson of Ubuntu Canarias, in memory of her grandfather. The content reflects exclusively the personal experience and opinions of the person who signs it.
Your story deserves to be heard too.
Every experience brings a unique view of the world. In Voices of the World we want to keep building a space where people can share their stories, cultures and lessons to bring us closer together.