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King Kong diversity-inclusion play

On October the 18th, I was honored to attend a play that aimed to raise awareness about the cultural and sexual violations that happen on the "Weekend d'intégration" (WEI).

This page is a personal reflection on the play.

The integration weekend is a period of time where the ancient students of an engineering school try to welcome and include freshmen students into the new school life. It is an opportunity for new students to meet and greet as well as make new friends and have fun with them.
Unfortunately, during this alleged fun and happy times, some violations occur and backfire some problems that separate students from each other rather than making them close. Some of these violations can make wounds that would never be healed. 
The goal of this play, presented by a judge, is to expose 3 of the most violations that occur on the WEI. In these 3 parts of the play, we will hear the incidents, we will listen to the victims as well as the people who committed these violations. As these violations are often taken to court, a chance will be given to the audience to judge each situation.

The play describes the 3 days of WEI where the characters Axel, Alex, and Omar had some interesting and shocking events during the WEI.

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Day 1: Cultural discrimination 
The play starts with the sounds of celebration of Alex and Axel. The two girls had a very good day and they were able to make new friends and have the time of their lives. Suddenly, Omar enters feeling hungover as it is shown in his face that he drank a lot of alcohol during the party.
It seems that Omar wasn't proud of what he did last night, since, being a Muslim, it is prohibited for him to drink alcohol. These comments triggered Axel as he shamed him for bringing religion into the discussion. She told Omar that, in order to be included with them, he has to do the same things as them, otherwise he won't be integrated into school life and he will be always alone.
The point of the first play is to show that foreign students find themselves "gently" oppressed by the dominant culture of the locals. We never heard that Axel forced Omar to do anything of the things he did during day 1. All they did is to encourage him to do some stuff and one made him do anything against his will. However, the dominant culture of the local students seems to be devouring the foreign ones who fear discrimination and loneliness away from their home and never being able to have a normal life with their fellow students in school.
Therefore, they chose to compromise some of their cultural or religious beliefs in order to be "accepted" by others. That's why it is called "silent" violence being held against these students.
Most of the audience felt bad for Omar and blamed Axel for oppressing him and trying to follow her cultural traditions. As for me, and as a foreign student myself who didn't go to the WEI this year, I'm just happy there are other ways to make friends.

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Day 2: I'll do anything to be popular
On day 2, Alex had a night with a bunch of events. Axel and Omar were having a good time. And apparently so was Alex. But, Alex decided to break the ice by saying that she wasn't proud of some of the stuff she did. She wasn't okay with the spirit of the party animal she was last night. Axel and Omar were surprised with what Axel is saying as not only she became the most popular girl in the school, but also everybody likes her now.
Alex partially agrees with them as she wanted to feel popular and loved by others. However, that came with some heavy costs. Alex claims that she has been harassed and touched by some students. That made her feel bad. Also, she felt ashamed when she lost some of her clothing during the party while drinking. She claims that the personality she showed during the party wasn't entirely hers. But, Axel and Omar kept saying that she wouldn't care since she reached her goal of being popular.
The point of the play is to show another form of silent violence: It is when you feel like you need to do certain actions to get the approval of others. Even if those actions weren't compatible with who you are.
The judging audience went to the side of Alex and suggested that the students who harassed her get punished and chose not to hold her responsible for what happened to her. I also believe that harassment should be punished.

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Day 3: Raped?
On day 3, It was Axel's turn to have an interesting day. Unfortunately, it was a tragic one. Omar and Alex had some fun and were happy with the end of the WEI. What it clear is that these two are energetic and ready to start school. However, Axel seems strangely quiet and lacks the confidence she always had in the WEI. That wasn't the only thing that changed. What also changed is the way Omar looks at her. He tells Alex that, during the party, he snuck with Axel into an empty chamber and had sexual intercourse. Both Omar and Alex seemed pretty excited with the news but Axel wasn't.
She is dropping the awful news saying that it wasn't with her consent. Omar never felt more confused, he claims that he and Axel were getting along very well. He never forced her to do anything and she entered the chamber with him with her full will. Axel then tells Omar that she changed her mind while they were taking their clothes. At that moment, she froze and felt like she has no control over her tongue or her body and that she couldn't stop him from keeping up.
Axel claims that she was raped, now she feels like being raped, feels trauma, and that something inside her is broken and now it is irredeemable. Omar, very surprised, didn't know what to say other than apologizing and telling Axel that he actually loves her and it wasn't his intention to hurt her. He thought that everything happened with their consent.
Axel is actually going to sue Omar for raping. The audience was the judge for this one, and as paradoxical as it sounds, the debate was heated. No one disagrees that Axel was a victim in the situation. But judging Omar was a difficult task. This time I didn't care about what the audience thought or even my thoughts on this situation. I just don't want to be in the shoes of whoever decides this.

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To conclude this reflection :

It was fun to the mind listening to the legal lecture presented by the judge during the plays. But I sure learned that everyone should be careful with his actions and sayings while dealing with other people.

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