“These are stories of social dilemmas”

Of the many hats she wears, the one of writer is the most recent yet most poignant and affecting. She has a knack for telling stories and it comes from her superior trait of being a curious, attentive and patient listener to people’s stories.She tells them as she hears, without adding or subtracting anything. There is no sensationalism. And that is perhaps, why her debut book, The Black Book of Arabia, a collection of true stories, has struck a chord with audiences from across the region.The book, a Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing publication, has quickly become a bestseller in Qatar and elsewhere in the Arabian Gulf region. The twelve carefully organised stories provide a glimpse into the lives of all kinds of people from royals to migrant workers settled in the Arabian Gulf.OPEN-MINDED: Sheikha Hend al-Qassemi says she does not believe in imposing her views.“These are stories of social dilemmas of the local cultures. And these are the dilemmas that we do not like talking about,” says Sheikha Hend al-Qassemi, the author of the book, who is also an editor, a successful entrepreneur, an artist and a fashion label owner.“These are true stories from the Gulf. There is a story of a woman who sells her kidney and gives the money to her fiancé. There is another story of a woman who went blind on her wedding day. It is a true story from Qatar,” Sheikha Hend tells Community in an interview at a recent signing of her book at a local bookstore.The Emirati writer who divides her time between Doha and Sharjah says the stories come from various locations in the region such as United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Egypt and other countries.She has received an overwhelmingly positive response from the audience. She says people thanked her “for being their voice”.MULTIFACETED: Sheikha Hend al-Qassemi edits a magazine, runs a fashion store and a flower store apart from writing.Photo by Umer Nangiana“They said we hear stories from the East and the West, but they are not our stories. This is the first attempt by a local or by an Arab to actually tell our stories to the young people here,” claims the writer.The language of the book, the author says, is simple and easy to go through. People can finish it in a day or two and they would enjoy it. “I don’t tap into any certain stereotypes. I just tell the stories,” she adds.These stories and others were first published in a True Stories of the Middle East column of Velvet, a regional lifestyle magazine of which Sheikha Hend is the editor-in-chief.She started with publishing the stories in the column and gradually people began approaching her to confess or profess their stories. The author says she would only change real names and locations to protect the identity of the people.It is the inspirational tales that move her the most. “I like inspirational stories, anything that involves transformation from a negative situation to a positive situation because I think we need more positive vibes,” she contends.She feels that her book would make women in particular believe they can do whatever they want, if they choose to.Sheikha Hend studied Architecture from the American University of Sharjah before doing her Masters in Project Management. She then opened a fashion and flower store. The fashion store gave the idea of a monthly fashion show which gave birth to the magazine Velvet.And she enriched the magazine by including more topics like true stories and a bit of science, health, beauty and fitness. In the beginning, these true stories were shorter. People enjoyed them, gave positive feedback and gradually the stories grew bigger.Sheikha Hend is now thinking of publishing the second part of the book. She is also working on a novel. But writing, she says, takes time as you have to write, re-write, edit and proof-read it besides making sure you do not step on anyone’s toes.“At least, I do not like to step on anyone’s toes because I want to talk to the maximum number of people. I want them to hear me first because until I reach the point where I can speak my mind I think I need to be a little careful in what I say,” says the author of The Black Book of Arabia.She is also trying to get an Arabic version of the book out soon. The original version has been successfully launched so far in Qatar, Emirates and Kuwait where she says they sold out the stock of the book on the launch day.Sheikha Hend says she is also writing some fiction. She has a cook book coming out before another book called Tycoon of Arabia. And then she is writing the story of a Jew, a Christian and a Muslim in an upcoming book of the same title.It tells the story of three children from Andulusia, Spain in 1490. In Andulusia, Jews, Christians and the Muslims all lived under one roof. The Muslims were there for 800 years so when the new Christian crusaders came in, the Jews and Muslims had to either convert or be killed, says the writer.Many left and the two countries which accepted them without judgment were Morocco and Turkey.“So I am writing about this story from Spain to Morocco and Turkey. I went to Turkey and visited the leather factories where they told me about the story. They said no country would accept them,” says Sheikha Hend. Those people told her that their ancestors made Turkey their home and it remains so to this day.Sheikha Hend says many writers and writings have inspired her, however, she does not believe in imposing one’s opinion.“It is your opinion, fine! You can state it and then walk away. You do not have to insult anyone’s beliefs. I do not believe in insulting anyone’s beliefs. I believe in understanding, peace and a one-world community (where) we could work together,” says the writer.She also believes the culture of reading is picking up in the region and the key to attracting readership is offering shorter, more interesting stories.