Redrawing Syria’s future

The image of Syrian toddler Alan Kurdi’s lying lifeless on a Turkish beach has awoken the international media and communities to the plight of millions of refugees who are fighting to get to Europe for safety and a better life. Thousands around Europe have setup local community project to ease the suffering of these refugees, collecting food, blankets, clothes and even providing them with a warm place to sleep. However as people unite to provide for the immediate needs of refugees, the children’s education and psychological needs are largely ignored. Some 4.1 million Syrians left the war torn country and move to neighbouring nations or further afield, a large majority of them are children who have been starved of their education and the ability to have a brighter future.

Watanili, “my homeland is mine” in Arabic, is a grassroots initiative, dedicated to providing support for displaced Syrians through arts therapy, educational programmes and community orientated projects. They work directly with civilians within and outside Syria to empower communities to restore the social and intellectual fabric of their lives.

The organisation was launched in May 2014 by Yara Tlass its founder and executive director. Born and raised in Damascus, Yara received a BA in international management from Lugano, Switzerland, and then moved to Paris to pursue an MBA. Like many Syrians, she had to leave her homeland due to the political situation.

Watanili was born out of the desire and need to offer a different image of the conflict in Syria. “Initially, we were mainly focused on the civilian aspect of the Syrian uprising, shedding light on the human stories and the pressing issues of the conflict, which we thought was not being sufficiently covered by the mainstream media.” The Watanili team did this through video-footage and by sharing photo-stories on social media.

The idea of the project emerged from the need to do something for Syria. “I started looking into ideas to offer a different perspective to the conflict, one that is not just limited to Assad and ISIS or Islamist fighters.” Two of her friends were eager to contribute, “we got excited and put our everything into it. We knew a few activists and photo journalists on the ground in Syria and that is how we kicked off our first video.”

Watanili’s main mission was to tell the world that there are people in Syria who want to live in peace and with dignity but that their stories are going unheard. Its mission and projects have since diverged and expanded to other initiatives including art therapy workshops, educational programmes and community-based aid.

The team turned to online crowdfunding campaigns to gather funds for their projects but they also received support from generous individuals at fundraisers. This, Yara explains, was “another key thing which helped our idea become a reality. This has really helped us gain momentum and build upon what we have already done and achieved in the past year.”

The organisation’s biggest supporters have been friends and family and people who advocate for a democratic change in Syria. It has also received some generous support from the British Council and Hivos, a Dutch organisation for development, who matched the funds raised through crowdfunding to run cinematic events in the city of Aleppo, northern Syria, to bring about a sense of joy and peace to one of Syria’s darkest zone.

Watanili has seen volunteers from all around the world join its mission and projects in the field in Turkey. The team hopes to reach out to as many people as possible in order to maximise the project’s potential and expand Watanili to benefit the largest number of Syrian children.

The team’s main base is Reyhanli, a small Turkish town about five kilometres from Syria, which has seen a very large influx of Syrian refugees given its proximity to the border.

“We would like to build up our presence and grow the support given to Syrians in the areas where we already operate, in order to ensure we have a sustainable presence before branching into further cities and projects. But hopefully, as we raise further awareness and funds we will be able to reach more people both in Reyhanli, Aleppo and further afield,” Yara says.

Watanili provides refugees with opportunity to access public schools, or to catch up on the years of education they missed since fleeing their war-torn country. The team, however, have a passion for art “as food for the soul and believe in its therapeutic power to alleviate stress and reduce anxiety, as well as harness inspiration and creativity, fostering a space of cultural expression. We care about promoting our culture and empowering Syrian artists through events, exhibitions and films. And finally, we care about providing community aid that is based on the needs of the people. So really, everything that we do must be connected to one of these aspects.”

Yara says the children have been through much trauma and the classes help them deal with their memories and emotions. In one workshop, Yara explains, the team asked the children to write about whatever came through their mind to see how the war was still affecting them.

As she unfolded the papers Yara saw one response: “‘I am imagining my wedding in this hall’, I remember I was filled with joy and excitement; a Syrian boy from Idlib. This was his reaction after the fun he had had during the activities led him to actually envisage his wedding at this very young age. At this moment, we thought we had achieved our goal – if we can foster their imagination and mind set towards a positive future, recuperating their hopes and dreams, then that is a step in the right direction.”

Yara can see the positive impact that every workshop has on the children; enabling them to smile, laugh, and enjoy themselves, things that have become a luxury for Syrian children.

The latest initiative for the Watanili team is the Souq for Syria, a pop-up market inspired by the bazaars of Damascus featuring arts, textiles, jewellery, toys and Arabic cuisine from independent artists, designers and traders. It was held in London’s Rich Mix earlier this month and featured the award winning storyteller and BAFTA-nominated performer Alia Al-Zougbi, in addition to live music featuring the acclaimed Iraqi jazz singer Alya Marquardt and rapper El Far3i.

Souq for Syria was put together by a core team of four; Elizabeth Edwards, the orchestrator who came up with the idea and secured the key foundations. She was joined by Anisa Goshi, Nazli Tarzi and Yara.

The traders were chosen based on what they had to offer in order to represent the wider Middle East; most of the traders were from Syria, Palestine, Libya, Iraq and Lebanon. Proceeds from the event were split between traders and Watanili. The organisation is using the funds to launch a Learning Centre in Reyhanli where displaced children, hardest hit by the conflict, are taught basic literacy and numeracy skills, as well as English.

The team have already organised several events in Dubai, France, Canada, Lebanon and Spain including fundraisers, photo exhibitions, trivia nights and spoken word poetry as well as a documentary screening of “Basil” by Adnan Jetto. “Basil” was filmed during a trip to the refugee camps in Reyhanli and it offers a glimpse into the lives of these children.

Other projects include cinematic activities in Syria, specifically Aleppo where the Syrian youth had a brief respite from the ongoing conflict through an underground cinema that was put together by Watanili.

Watanili is a project with a difference, run by young people for youth Syrian refugees who will ultimately influence the shape of Syria’s future and contribute to the reconstruction of a vibrant civil society.

Visit Watanili’s website,Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages.