On a sunny Friday morning, we headed to the Old Port of Montreal to visit a brand new space. This space is the Maktaba Bookshop, which opened almost four months ago. We go to meet Sundus Abdul Hadi, founder of this establishment, but not only... She welcomes us in a space that is reminiscent of an oriental lounge. With a background of traditional music, and properly installed in the “living room” of her bookstore, she tells us her story and everything that the Maktaba bookstore represents in her life.
Who is Sundus Abdul Hadi?
“My name is Sundus Abdul Hadi; I am a mother, an artist, a writer and, today, a Bookshop owner ” she says with a smile. If there's one thing to remember about him, it's that Sundus is always smiling. Born in Abu Dhabi, but raised in Montreal, she has not forgotten her Iraqi origins, far from it. “I was born in Abu Dhabi; my parents left Iraq in the 1970s and I came here in the 1990s. Even though I was not born in Iraq and have been here for 30 winters now, my connection to this country is still there. I have one foot here and one foot there, I am of Iraqi origin and I am very proud of that.” “I love Montreal and I am very grateful to be here,” continues Sundus, before talking about her writing projects. She is in fact also a writer and is the author of the illustrated book for children Shams And from the book Take Care of Your Self. “All my artistic or creative work has a personal origin and comes from a long period of working on myself and practicing myself — it's the source of my work. You have to prove yourself, set goals in the face of obstacles. The first obstacle is self-confidence. Can I do it? When will I be able to do it. You are both her best supporter and her biggest critic; you have to find the balance between the two,” she underlines with confidence and experience.
The family plays an essential place in the life of the Iraqi artist, because, while Sundus is a writer and an entrepreneur, she is above all an artist. It is an end in itself, according to her. “In many families, they tell you that you have to be an engineer, doctor or even a lawyer. I come from a family of artists, and art is our way of life, and it is very rare, this source of identity. My family is my first source of support, it gives me a lot of self-confidence.” When we talked about the cultural clash between the countries of the East and Montreal, the subject of family came back to the table: “The shock of coming here? There was no shock. Since I immigrated here — when I was 10, 11 years old —, we stay among ourselves and we support each other, as a family.” The artistic side is therefore hereditary at Sundus, who tells us about his Maktaba bookstore as the logical continuation of his artistic projects. She is grateful to be where she is today, by our side, talking about her bookstore as a “gift.” “In life, you go through difficult times where you fight trying to push and, at some point, when you succeed, you think back to those hard times and realize that you have grown and evolved. These moments are the foundations of your present life, it's important. Forget what you don't have and be proud of what you already have! ” concludes Sundus proudly as he observes his own culmination — the bookstore — from the inside.
A bookstore that reflects its image and that of the community
Sundus has loved telling stories since she was a kid. “What inspires me is the mix of Storytelling (telling stories) and justice in the world, a world full of injustices. The inspiration is my community, my Iraqi community.” The Maktaba Bookshop brings together all the interests of the Iraqi artist. This space was a need. She, who was looking for a place that represented both her identity, artistic and, above all, community interests, found this bookstore the ideal place. “We are a bookstore, a neat and safe space. My job is to create this space where we can bring and discover our books together. Without community, we cannot exist and open up a space like Maktaba; we complement each other.
They support my work and I support their needs — it creates a great exchange. That's why it was necessary to provide space, a place for knowledge, for inspiration,” she tells us between two clients. Sundus Abdul Hadi is aware of the visibility she can now have thanks to her bookstore, especially in a tourist district like that of the Old Port. Very smiling since the beginning of our discussion, the writer takes a more serious tone when talking about her desire for justice: “I have the responsibility and the resources as an artist to change things. The responsibility to talk about it, because I am tired of all this injustice, tired of all these stereotypes, like “Arabs are violent”, for example... We have a great culture in each community, a rich heritage, a lot of knowledge and wisdom, and we have to share them with the world. Montreal is a place where I can be myself, a wonderful place to be an independent artist with lots of support from the community. With this support, I can succeed here.”
So there is a community at the center of the “Maktaba” project, but also a concern about representation. “There is very little room for color representation here. A representation that can be counted on one's fingers here. This is why I was motivated to open Maktaba, because there is a real need in the community and in my life.” A life that has seen a lot of independent artistic projects. Moreover, the bookstore is his first permanent space in Montreal. A community need met in part thanks to Maktaba: “You can be yourself if you feel represented and that means a lot. It's a big achievement when I see people coming and feeling represented. I am enjoying this moment and that is where I am right now, with this space. I am very grateful and I am living this moment to the fullest,” she says with a newfound smile.
“Tell your own story! ”
Sundus tells her story in Take Care of Your Self, where an expression comes up often, that of being” Deeply Rooted or “deeply rooted.” “This expression is a concept, a way of talking about marginalization, colonialism, and racism in my book. It is an expression that evokes our heritage, our wealth and that crosses all cultures,” she says. The writer tells this story for both herself and her children, but her work is also “an offering” for her readers. “Writing is a very important way for me to express myself and then to offer that to my children in the future. I want to share all this information and that it is useful for my children, but also for our communities, for all our communities connected by the same problems”, summarizes Sundus talking about his book, published two years ago.
His artistic and curious side allowed him to tell his story in his works, including Take Care of Your Self a book about traumas, healings, struggles, and care. It took him no less than 10 years of effort, work and research to produce this book. “We always aim for the same thing! Whether for the sake of representation or identity, culture is the source of our work. Tell your own story! Whatever project you want to do, start by telling your own story and, with your heart, set a goal and reach it. ” When there's a will, there's a way ”, as they say in English — as long as you want something, you will always find a way to get there.” According to her, the idea is to know why it is important to tell your story and how to do it. “The intention is to write, share and tell your own story,” she passionately summarizes.
In a context of provincial re-election, where the leader of the CAQ party, François Legault, said that welcoming more than 50,000 immigrants would be “suicidal,” the concern for representation is an integral part of the history of Sundus. She notes that here in Quebec, as in Canada, and more widely in North America, the representations of immigrant communities are in a complicated situation. “I grew up at a time when Iraq was at war with the United States. There was the war on the territory of Iraq, but also in the media: the representation of the war in Iraq, and especially of Muslims, after the events of September 11 resulted in great brutality and racism against people of color. There is a major concern for representation between true stories and realities and the way in which these stories are told or represented in the media, books, and schools,” explains Sundus, reaffirming the importance of opening a bookstore for everyone, here in Montreal.
Through her history, her experiences and the Maktaba bookstore, the Iraqi artist Sundus Abdul Hadi wants to bequeath the power of knowledge to the generations and artists of the future: “Knowledge also comes from books. So come and get a book that could change your life! ”