Creating
a haven of happiness for displaced children
The war may have ended and most displaced people might have gone back
to their homes, but Sharif Abdunnur's work has all but stopped.
Abdunnur, who teaches drama at AUB and directs and writes plays, had
set up drama therapy workshops for displaced children during the month-long
war, working out of the Al-Madina theater, in Beirut. Now that the
war has ended, he will be following "his children" to their
hometowns.
"We will be working with 15 villages in the south, or about 2500
children," he said.
The success of his drama therapy workshops in Beirut had prompted
The Associated Press to write a feature story on it. As a result,
dozens of world-renowned newspapers picked up the story.
Activities are being coordinated by Al-Jana, a non-governmental agency
funded by the European Union and the United Nations that promotes
active learning and creativity, especially in low-income Lebanese
areas.
Initially, children's pent-up anger would manifest itself in fights
on stage, causing Abdunnur to keep them "on opposite ends of
the stage." But with time, the children learnt to resolve their
anger and frustrations through role-playing.
"They would re-enact things that bother them through an imaginary
character they would create," said Abdunnur. "In this manner,
they could even laugh at the tough experiences they have had."
Abdunnur has several years of experience working with troubled children
in Palestinian camps and prisons, where he volunteers during summer.
That is why he decided to apply his therapy workshops with the displaced
children.
"These activities have made us forget the war and the horrible
things we have seen on TV," 14-year-old Abbas Khazem had told
AP.
Now that the bombing is over, families have been eagerly going back
to their destroyed towns and villages. The children, too have left
their temporary refuge, leaving behind heavy hearts.
"[The day they left] was horrible, heart wrenching, the kids
coming one by one kissing me and hugging me and some crying,"
wrote Abdunnur in one of his email diaries. "But my worries where
not only for our separation but about what they where about to face."
Abdunnur said that the children were dreaming of going back to their
homes and their rooms to play with their toys, talk with their friends,
seeking the security they grew up with in their own neighborhoods.
"They don't know that their home is a pile of rubble, their room
will be a family tent which is weather proof, no TV, no electricity,
bugs, the heat of the scorching Mediterranean summers, and the stench
of the corpses that might still be rotting under some of the houses,"
he said. "Once they arrive at the ruins that where their young
lives, they will notice how much they have truly lost, their friends,
neighbors, house, security, even villages at times. I am so terrified
that this will traumatize them immensely."
With this in mind, Abdunnur set out to follow the children with his
therapy workshops. Immediately, he started training 22 volunteers
to become trainers. Working in conjunction with Al-Jana, they devised
a program whereby Abdunnur and the trainers would be able to visit
up to 15 villages per week, offering them drama therapy workshops.
And the story continues...
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