Nada and Muhammed… They are two adolescents having to leave their country due to the war in Syria. The mutual aspect of these two young boys, who have come from Syria’s Homs and Aleppo cities, is that they have both set their hearts on theater. Nada and Muhammed’s paths crossed with 14 Turkish and Syrian youth, who are also theater fans, in Gaziantep. The adolescents put on their first show last December in Gaziantep after rehearsing for six months. Currently, they are preparing to go on a Turkey tour that covers eight provinces.
The adolescent’s’ theater journey began with the “Theater for Friendship Project” carried out at Association for Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Migrants (ASAM) Gaziantep Integrated Field Office that is supported by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). The play that took the audience on a journey from the Ancient Greek Age to the Migration of Tribes, from geographic expeditions until the present day and towards the Space Age, is presented in Turkish and Arabic.
17-year-old Nada Şeyh Müslüm is the youngest member of the theater team. Having arrived in Turkey 5 years ago with her family, Nada lives with her brother, who’s married. Currently, she is attending second grade in an open high school. Except for the theater play organized with other students in primary school that focus on the war period, Nada had no experience in this field until she joined the While Migrating (Göç’erken) theater play. Indicating that she is proud to appear on the stage as a refugee, Nada explains, “I’m glad to be doing something on behalf of my country and to break down the prejudices against Syrians. We, Syrians, play our roles in Arabic while our Turkish friends play theirs in Turkish. In the beginning, we were really concerned about ‘how it’s going to be’, but we were able to get along with each other through gestures and mimics due to the trust and cohesion among us. I’m very happy”.
Conveying that she experiences a different excitement in each of her four roles in the play, Nada says, “The thing that I do as a hobby is the most indispensable part of my life now, and I’m doing it gladly. Assuming different roles and the challenges associated with it truly excite me. I want to improve myself in theater by receiving professional education”.
20-year-old Muhammed Nur Hüseyin came to Turkey 3 years ago and currently works in part-time jobs. Having five siblings, Muhammed says that when he joined the While Migrating theater play, they were receiving drama training with his friends. Explaining that this theater project is a great opportunity for him, Muhammed expresses, “We become the voice of refugees with our play; we show people that Turkish and refugee persons could be together”.
Muhammed, who wants to study pharmacy, says that his future dream is to “graduate from university, earn a livelihood based on a regular income, and witness the end of the war in Syria”.
ASAM Southeast Anatolia Regional Coordination Hasan Can Pala has indicated that 32 hours of drama training are provided to the youth within the project that began in May 2018 and that the While Migrating play was staged at City Theater Onat Kutlar Stage with the support of Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality. Pala says, “We aim to ensure the socialization of Turkish and Syrian youth and strengthen the communication between them. This theater play is one of the best examples of social cohesion that we, as ASAM, are trying to achieve. Our theater play has now matured. We plan to stage the play in 8 provinces, including Şanlıurfa, Osmaniye, Kilis, Kahramanmaraş, Malatya and Adana, and then prepare for international theater festivals”.
