Layan Amkieh often felt the pressure to downplay her cultural and religious identity.

A Syrian woman who spent her formative years moving between multiple countries and continents, she was accustomed to coping in Western spaces where SWANA (Southwest Asian and North African) voices were sidelined or erased.

Now, through Mazikaa Enterprises, she’s working to create a community space and organize events that celebrate and preserve SWANA heritage by fostering connection and authentic self-expression.

From early childhood, Amkieh’s life was fraught with displacement.

When she was two years old in 2000, her family left Syria seeking a more promising life.

For the next several years, she and her family moved across several Gulf countries, first to Saudi Arabia before eventually settling in the UK.

At 17, Amkieh moved to the U.S.

to continue her studies.

Although her family was reluctant to send her across the world, she was accepted into SDSU in 2015, where she studied political science, focusing on human rights in the Middle East and Latin America.

Amkieh quickly saw the similarities between Middle Eastern and Latin American politics.

That parallel led her to her working in resettlement and immigration, advocating for fair housing and refugee resettlement.

“I wanted to study what was going on so I could understand why I was where I was and not in my homeland, and why I haven’t been back since”.

After several years in the non-profit sector, Amkieh started organizing events.

In December 2023, she threw what she thought would be a small, one-time event.

She called it Mazikaa, a stylization of the Arabic word musiqaa (موسيقى), for music.

Before it was finished, attendees immediately inquired when the next event would be.

Amkieh says she immediately realized its significance.

“There was this sense of responsibility that we are not doing this because people are bored and want something to do,” she said.

“But because this is an emotional lifeline for people and a recharge for leaders and community organizers.” Amkieh said she’s experienced how hard it is for people of the SWANA diaspora to find and cultivate community in San Diego.

Like many in the diaspora, she felt pressured to downplay her national, cultural and religious identity.Following the success of that first event, Amkieh started Mazikaa Enterprises with her sister, Nour, to curate spaces where the community could celebrate SWANA cultures.

Through monthly gatherings, Mazikaa has given people a chance to connect while highlighting SWANA music and culture, curated for members of the diaspora to preserve and actively practice their heritage.

Mazikaa has since branched out into three core events: Mazikaa Nights:....