“In a world as dark as this, choose to be kind.” Wali Shah

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

“I see the elevator door open.  I saw my mom walks out. NO words were spoken, but a million things were said. Mom started to follow us. She was yelling, ‘Give me my son back.’ This is the moment that changed my life for ever.”

At the age of 25, this young phenomenon has toured Canada coast to coast as a WE Day performer. He closed out President Barack Obama’s keynote with a bespoken poetic message. He has free styled with hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar, and he is recognized as alumni of RBC’s Top 25 Canadian Immigrants. At the age of 22, he was named the City of Mississauga’s official Poet Laureate. In his free time, you can find him volunteering for organizations like the United Way, and while he was in school at the University of Toronto, the Muslim Student Association.

He has given TED talks, worked on voiceovers, and he has created poetry for corporate organizations. He partners with well know organizations including Microsoft, Deloitte, Metrolinx, Zillow, WE Free the Children, Canada Walk of Fame. Wali Shah has become the voice of a generation. He visits hundreds of schools and colleges across North America and performs his poetry with a purpose. To show our youth that it doesn’t matter where you come from, or what you have done, you can rise about your current life situations and become a beacon of light to a person least expected.

“We don’t make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”

With great pleasure, I would like to share with the community the interview that I had with our Classic Man Wali Shah. He was so open to speaking to me about his life, and what he has gone through. Despite the facts that he has over 12.7 thousand followers on his Instagram page (@lifeaswali) and an immense following on all of his social media platforms, he was so easy to engage in open dialogue. It was an hour of learning for me that I would like to summarize for you this week.

We had to postpone our interview a few times, because as you know life happens. When we finally connected, his story came to life in front of me.

“My parents came to this country with nothing. They didn’t even have winter jackets. I didn’t have my dad around much because he was always working. I watched my parents grind and I thought to myself, ‘I have to grind. I have to be like my parents.’ I grew up in Mississauga, in the Hurontario and Dundas area. As many may know, it is a community ridden with poverty and drugs.

I learned early that to make it, you have to do whatever you can.  When I was young, my friends and I were all just trying to get by. My mentality was driven on getting what I want. I would have $2.00. I wouldn’t eat. I would save that money, and I would take that money to blockbuster and get myself a video game. This led to bigger compromises. There was this need to want to fit in, sense of belonging. My parents working as hard as they did left me with too much free time, and when I look at it now, I see how socialized by society I was.”

I had heard that he had a run in with the law at a young age, so I queried how this had affected him.

“My wake-up call came at 15 years old when I was arrested. I used to get away with a lot. After getting into a fight, a police officer began to interrogate me. What I didn’t think was fair was that he only did for two minutes. He didn’t let me tell my side of the story. He just threw me into the backseat.

 What I most remember is seeing the elevator door open. I saw my mom walks out, just as I was getting thrown into the backseat of the squad car. NO words were spoken but a million things were said. As the police car drove away, my mom started to follow us. She was yelling, ‘Give me my son back.’ I thought about where my life was going, and where I was headed. My mom’s eyes said so much.”

“This is what I was doing with the chance that my parents had given me. They were willing to give up their whole lives for me. They didn’t come to this country to see their son end up behind bars. This is when everything changed for me.”

“Keep pushing no matter what obstacles come my way.”

It was after all of this that Wali really needed someone in his life. A friend. A mentor. This is how Ms. Riley (the person he calls his angel from heaven), approached him between classes.

“She stopped me and noticed the changes in my behaviour. I didn’t feel comfortable sharing, and she seemed to understand. She brought me Tupac’s book of poetry. I couldn’t talk to my parents about my passions. They were from a different time, a different place. I don’t blame them; God just provided for me exactly what I needed at the time.”

 Wali expressed his gratitude for Ms. Riley. “She is black. She is powerful. She is strong. She has been counted out. She made me realize that if she can get through things, I can.”

 He is conscious of his role in this global community. Wali knows that his ministry is bigger than simply a classroom. The lessons from his experiences are going to change the world. He is cognizant of the strength of his personal narrative, and his struggles have helped him with being a spoken word artist.

“The hip-hop industry is not always the greatest. A lot of artists are self-serving. They use their platform the wrong way. Kids are overdosing on drugs because their favourite hip-hop artist said they use it. I could relate to Tupac. It was then that I told myself. I am going to make a difference. Spoken word became my life. My final exam was a poem that I wrote about my arrest. I was so scared, but I had the strength of Moses when he spoke to Pharaoh. This is not for me. It is for the world to hear. I got 100% on the exam.”

What is left for this young man to do? Well, take over the world. He has begun to focus on work involving the mental health challenges experienced by young people, as well as the topic of toxic masculinity and how it manifests within the community. In the near future, he wants to start a mentorship program for youth, and it is fitting seeing what he has been through.

Our young people need hope, and it is great to see that our future is looking bright. Keep it up Mr. Wali Shah. The Greater Toronto community is rooting for you.