Muhammed Shoaib

Shoaib is 24 years old, from Pakistan, and joined the project sessions in early 2022 at the Cineteatro Camacho Costa in Odemira.

“I found a BOWING leaflet inside a closet, in my room. I was curious and decided to go.”

He left Pakistan for Hungary with a student visa for a course in International Relations.

“The situation in Pakistan was very difficult. I couldn’t pay for my studies so I decided to come to Portugal. Portuguese government makes it easy to have a VISA.”

When we met Shoaib, he was working in the greenhouses of agricultural companies.

“My father always wanted me to work in an office, to have a good job, but he died when I was still a child and our situation became difficult. It was just my mother looking after us, we are four brothers.”

When he arrived in Portugal, Shoaib didn't know anyone, but during our encounters he sang, danced, laughed, and lit up with enthusiasm. We discovered his talent for singing.

“When I entered the Cineteatro in Odemira I saw a group of Asian people and two beautiful girls teaching them some movements and Portuguese words. I felt very happy with what I was seeing. When you are a migrant, if you are working all week and you are very tired, you don’t feel happy that often. So I decided to come to the next class. I felt so good again and I realized I could learn a lot of things for free. It has been one year and three months since I am in BOWING.”

Around summertime we took Shoaib for a job interview at a bar in Vila Nova de Milfontes, where he worked as a kitchen assistant for several months before moving to the kitchen of the Professional School of Odemira, where he still works now. In the BOWING BACK performance, Shoaib had several musical solos that he hummed in the street and during rehearsals, and everyone was captivated by his melodies. The process was not always easy:

“I think you should do less things at the same time. Too many things at once was a bit confusing.”

Everything happened simultaneously, and Shoaib helped on various fronts, also being part of the production team, assisting with cleaning, setup, and writing texts.

“I had a strong feeling during the two months preparing the show. Especially the feeling I had in the last performance, on the third day. So many people were watching! The rest of us saying goodbye… I felt that all the year I spent with you succeeded in that moment.”

Throughout the year, Shoaib learned many lyrics of well-known Portuguese songs, and even today, when we forget the words, Shoaib is the one who corrects us.

“My way of talking and dealing with people has changed with BOWING. It was my first real contact with Portuguese people and Portuguese culture.”

More than a participant, he is a close friend with whom we share many moments. Once, at a party with part of the BOWING BACK cast in Lisbon, we were surprised when we heard the doorbell and Shoaib walked into the room. He had taken a bus from Odemira, coming to Lisbon for the first time, to join us.