Madiha Gomaa, Author at Neighborhood View

“Between Two Worlds” album highlights the immigrant experience and reframes stereotypes

August 31, 2022 Madiha Gomaa 0

By Madiha Gomaa Earlier this summer at St. Paul’s Parish in Malden, upright bass and trumpet collided with zikr, a Sufi tradition based on repetition, creating mesmerizing music from internationally renowned percussionist and composer George Lernis. The occasion was a June 16 concert that launched Lernis’ new album “Between Two Worlds,” which weaves his Middle Eastern/Mediterranean musical traditions into his jazz composition. He has been dreaming about creating this fusion for years. Finally, he got to see his dream come true. Lernis chose Malden for the album release concert because of the city’s long history of welcoming immigrants from all over the world, making it one of the most diverse cities in the Commonwealth. The album’s metaphoric name, originally inspired by a Sufi poem from the 15th century, holds more than one meaning. The two worlds could be jazz and Mediterranean music, or home country and the U.S, or both of these. For Lernis, this album is about his journey as an immigrant. “It’s about depicting my journey and rediscovering myself as an immigrant and […]

They needed someone to meet them where they’re at. The Bridge did that

July 20, 2022 Madiha Gomaa 2

By Madiha Gomaa In 2016, when Paul Hammersley, founder of Malden Overcoming Addiction (MOA), met Keriann Caccavaro in a recovery coach training, he told her about an idea he had been working on “nonstop” since 2013: A peer recovery center that offers a community support-based environment for people living with substance use disorder. She thought it was impossible. Now, she is a program director at this center. The Bridge in Malden is not a typical addiction recovery center. The facility at 239 Commercial St. doesn’t provide therapy, clinical or health care services. It is a peer-driven model. All peer staff members have lived a similar experience to those they hope to help through this center. Navigating their own pathway, they have found sobriety through fellowships, community, or therapy. Now, they want to help people reach sobriety as they did. “Peer-driven means that it’s all based off of what worked for us; what we try to do is meet our members exactly where they’re at in their sobriety,” Caccavaro said. “We try to support them on […]

‘Baba’ brings the Middle East to Malden

June 29, 2022 Madiha Gomaa 1

By Madiha Gomaa “Molokhia” is a thick green soup made of the leaves of Corchorus olitorius, known in English as jute mallow. It is a quite popular dish in the Middle East and something I did not think I’d find in the United States. But when I walked into Baba, Malden’s first Middle Eastern grocery store, I saw “Molokhia leaves” on one of the boxes. I quickly took a picture of it and sent it to my mom in Egypt. I soon was able to speak to store co-owner Mounir Kabbani and learn how the business started. Sixteen years ago, Mounir Kabbani and his family left Lebanon and came to the U.S. with his family hoping for better education opportunities. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in business management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, followed by a master’s degree in political science from Suffolk University, and now he runs his family business, Baba Supermarket. Mounir and his dad, Adib Kabbani, together started Baba in 2011. It’s hard to miss as it’s located next to Malden’s […]