Arab artists show solidarity with Syrian refugees
Ola El Saket
http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/arab-artists-show-solidarity-syrian-refugees
KILIS, Turkey — The colorful
balloons Egyptian activist Moushira Saleh gave Mohamed last week were
among the few things that brought him joy. He was about to temporarily
leave the Kilis refugee camp on the Turkish border as the family’s
three-month right to asylum permit in Turkey had just expired. Hence,
they had to return to Syria and cross over into Turkey again to receive a
new one.The Kilis camp is currently home to 3,700 Syrian children.
That’s why the regional non-profit
Culture Resource
decided to organize a weeklong visit titled “In Support of the Syrian
People” for 17 Arab artists, writers, activists and journalists to one
of the most populous camps, sheltering about 15,000 Syrian refugees.
The convoy included singer
Mohammed Abd El Aal (aka Mado), vernacular poet Hamdi Zeidan, theater
citric Yasser Allam, visual artists Hamdy Reda from Egypt and
Palestinian Khaled Hourani, storytellers Sondos Shabayek and Mona
al-Sheimy, filmmaker Tamer El Said and TV host Reem Maged.
Basma El Husseiny, the
managing director of Culture Resource and the trip’s coordinator, said
that the idea first occurred to her when she saw actress Angelina Jolie
visiting the Syrian refugee camps, while “we [Arabs] were watching her
on TV.”
Students at the camp’s school
were very excited to participate in the activities. Even those who had
skipped the school day came to watch Allam and Shabayek through the
classroom window as they told the kids stories.
Allam explained that moral support is the most urgent need for the children.
“Storytelling helps children
overcome the horror,” he says, adding that “what was really amazing was
that the kids imagined different endings to the evil they fear; they
made victories, which shows that they are full of hope.”
Hourani and Reda worked with
the children differently. They roamed the huge camp, photographing the
kids, and printed the photos to give to the children.
“Journalists often take photos of those kids, then take them with them without leaving copies,” says Hourani.
For him, “one of the most
important things about these photos is that they offer a different view
of Syria, with kids smiling despite everything they’ve seen. If the
violent images that the world has seen didn’t catch their eyes to stop
the violence, maybe the smiles of innocent kids will.”
Lebanese actress, writer and
educator Hanane Hajj-Ali also worked with children at the camp.
Nine-year-old Fatima and Raeefa dream of becoming actresses, so she
helped them make a play about the Syrian revolution that they performed
at the end of the week with other children. The play involved a lot of
symbolism; one acted as a wolf, the other a lamb.
Throughout the week, mothers
at the camp closely watched the various activities and talked about
their hopes and fears. So Hajj-Ali started a palm reading session with
them.
“The women needed to tell
their fears to somebody, but they are very shy, particularly around the
men,” says Hajj-Ali. “So I thought that visiting them at their homes and
spending time listening to them might relieve some of their pains.”
As she visited several groups, women started gathering around her and invited her for a cup of coffee.
“Would you like me to read you
cups?” she asked, and they began explaining their fears about the
future as they looked into their coffee cups.
One woman feared that her
husband would marry a young woman; she says that one of the ways the
Free Syrian Army manages the female refugees’ problems is by finding
them husbands to stay with.
Another feared that her
husband wouldn’t come back from the war. “He never stayed for two weeks
without coming back to us,” she said.
Despite the hardships they’ve
been through over the past few months, Syrians at the Kilis camp do
their best to stay optimistic and hopeful that things will eventually
get better. Embracing the visitors and the workshops was one step along
the way to endure the difficulties they are going through. The
suggestion to hold a concert, performance and exhibition showcasing the
works of the children throughout the week was another step.
No one expected more than the
hundred children involved in the various workshops to attend. To
everyone's delight, about 3,000 women and children showed up at the
storage area, which was turned into an exhibition hall for the kids’
drawings. And the concert organically turned into a peaceful protest, as
chants against Bashar al-Assad accompanied Mado as he sang and played
his guitar.
