All One Under the Sun unites students to tackle Coffs Harbour racism

Two NSW Mid North Coast school students once enemies are now best of mates thanks to an anti-racism program. See how music brought them together.

The vast array of cultures and stories within Coffs Harbour’s diverse community are being united through a program aiming to tackle racism.

The initiative run by All One Under the Sun titled Change the Story aims to promote inclusion, pooling Jetty High School and Orara High School students together – many of whom were once enemies for no reason beyond stigma.

The result: heartfelt hip hop music forged by shared stories of culture, background and love.

Tory Paasi with Coffs Harbour high school students. Picture: And the Trees Photography

Music producer and mentor Tory Paasi, 38, said the students from the indigenous and Yazidi communities were initially separated until realising they had to come together.

Yazidi people are indigenous to countries in the Middle East such as Iraq, Syria and Turkey and have a close community on the Coffs Coast.

“We realised we had to get them together to share stories and before we knew it they were exchanging Instagrams,” Mr Paasi said.

The kids soon forged bonds and realised they really were not all that different from one another.

“They went from punching on to fully embracing each other,” he said.

Mr Paasi said it was “tear jerking” when the students began sharing and creating art.

All the very many faces that make up some of the diverse community in Coffs Harbour. Picture: And the Trees Photography

“Yazidi people have a lot more in common with Aboriginal people,” Mr Paasi said.

He said some of the kids he worked with had been through juvenile detention – and in one case, an ISIS attack survivor.

“Both cultures have been dispossessed from their land and had to fight to maintain culture under a dominant society,” Mr Paasi said.

Orara High School student Katijah Hoskins-Jacobs, 16, was initially hesitant – and was not even sure she liked music.

“I wasn’t keen at first but it ended up being the most amazing experience,” Katijah said.

Katijah Hoskins-Jacobs (centre) was able to come out of her shell and perform in front of hundreds. Picture: And the Trees Photography

She feared she would not fit in, but as she worked with her fellow students and facilitators, she said she “came out of my shell and felt embraced”.

The two groups had initially made separate songs before joining them together.

“The music had similar themes about our cultures and it was so cool to learn from them,” she said.

The group then presented its passionate song to large crowds at Jetty High School and Orara.

Singing from the heart, Tory Paasi used to deliver hip hop workshops in juvenile detention centres before moving to Coffs to work with the Aboriginal land council. Picture: And the Trees Photography

“It was scary at first but I felt confident knowing I was surrounded by everyone,” Katijah said.

She said it introduced her to new cultures and helped her find her voice as a young person.

“People my age need something to distract us and this was really eye-opening,” Katijah said.

The young student now raps at Mr Paasi’s studio and hopes to take music with her into the future.

Change the Story will kick off when school resumes – with the hope more students come forward to sing their song.