- Title: Music classes bring joy to young Syrian refugees in Zaatari
- Date: 19th May 2016
- Summary: VARIOUS OF SYRIAN REFUGEE, MOHAMMED RIFAI, PLAYING THE OUD
- Embargoed: 3rd June 2016 10:18
- Keywords: Zaatari Jordan music refugees children Syria
- Location: MAFRAQ, JORDAN
- City: MAFRAQ, JORDAN
- Country: Jordan
- Topics: Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA0064IH145X
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: In Jordan's Zaatari Refugee Camp, young Syrian refugees are getting together to sing and play instruments.
Each week, the Finn Church Aid organisation (FCA) puts on a music class for refugee children, helping them forget their troubles for a short time whilst also learning new skills.
"Our music classes started recently, around four months ago, after repeated requests from students. Students living in the camp face a lot of stress, the situation is tough psychologically, so they seek music for entertainment and to lessen the burden of their circumstances. We have two sections, one for boys and one for girls," said Muna Nadi, a field officer with FCA.
So far, the class is attended by 20 boys and 10 girls every week, with many more signing up to join.
Omar Noeiran, a music teacher from Deraa in Syria, said the classes aren't just about learning.
They also help the students adapt to their new homes and provide an outlet for their frustrations and anxieties.
"We've been in Zaatari for five years, there are no parks here for people to go to, not even a tree to look at, so I thought music can transport students away from this world. It can be their outlet in the midst of difficult circumstances in the camp," he said.
Noeiran started organising music classes when he first arrived to the camp almost five years ago.
He would put on classes in his cramped tent, and introduce his young students to the basics of music.
Now he has moved his classes to the roomier centre set up by the FCA, with access to instruments that include the keyboards, melodica and oud.
Noeiran said he often asks his students to take their instruments back to their tents or caravans to practice, hoping that this will bring some happiness to their families.
One of his students is fifteen-year-old Mohammed Rifai.
The teenager, who has been in the camp for three years, said playing the oud distracts him from the challenges of daily life in the camp.
"Between school and leaving the war in Syria it is tough. When I come here I let out all my negative energy, everything that is bothering me I leave behind here and I become happy again," he said.
Jordan currently hosts more than 1.4 million refugees, with most of them living in urban areas and around 100,000 Syrians in camps.
Around 85,000 have found sanctuary at Zaatari, some 15 km from Jordan's border with Syria, and now one of the world's largest refugee camps.
Since the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad began in 2011, more than 4.2 million people have fled war-ravaged Syria. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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