The Caravan Europe

Exciting news for The Caravan!

We have just been awarded a grant by the European Cultural Foundation to help us launch The Caravan Europe. This grant will fund the research we need to carry out to find partners in France, Germany and Sweden to help us bring this project to life.

The grant was awarded to us after Sabine Choucair, Creator of The Caravan, attended the IDEA CAMP in Madrid earlier this year hosted by ECF, the Connected Action for the Commons network and the City of Madrid. Fifty change makers were gathered for a period of 3 days where they met each other and worked on their ideas, 25 of which were awarded a research and development grant.

The Caravan Europe will involve us travelling around France, Germany and Sweden collecting and recording stories from refugees around the three countries. We will collate these audio stories and design a physical performance staged on a van to accompany them.  We will then tour the three countries with our performance van sharing these stories with as many communities as possible.

The Caravan Europe is an opportunity to bridge the gap between host communities and refugee communities in Europe who suffer from both a language and cultural barrier. By telling these individual stories we can humanize the ongoing refugee crisis and create a space to open a dialogue between both communities. This is such an important step as we witnessed with the performances of The Caravan in Lebanon.

We received a remarkable response from people when we took the performance to Tunisia in 2016. Therefore, we are very excited to share these wonderful stories with audiences in Europe!

The Caravan Project Tunisia 2016.jpg

The Caravan Goes To School Press Release

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BEIRUT, Lebanon – When the Caravan arrives, the children come running. For 40 minutes, they and their parents are entertained by a Lebanese and Syrian cast of clowns, musicians, actors and puppeteers who perform true stories about the importance of education.

The project, “The Caravan Goes to School,” is an innovative street theater initiative to fight one of the greatest threats to young people in Lebanon. As the new school year begins, 180,000 Syrian and 50,000 Lebanese children are not enrolled in school, severely limiting their potential, according to UNICEF.

“The Caravan Goes to School” uses a creative, entertaining format to teach parents and children about the importance of education and to provide them with information on how to enrol their children this year.

The show is based on six true stories that address a range of topics, including early marriage and how it interferes with girls’ education, the challenges facing the Lebanese school system, the costs of not getting an education, and the success stories of those who persevered and how it has changed their lives.

The performance includes audios, clowning, puppetry and music and is being performed in public spaces around Lebanon every Friday and Saturday from Oct. 7 to Nov. 4, 2016, with the aim of reaching communities where children less likely to be enrolled in school. This project is part of the UNICEF Back to School Campaign #Ana_7ader.

“The Caravan Goes to School” is the second performance produced by The Caravan and follows “The Caravan: The World Is Listening”, which focused on personal stories about the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon and was performed around Lebanon during June and July 2016.

If you are interested in covering the project, attending a performance and interviewing project organizers and cast members, please contact Zeina Sfeir at zeinasfeir@gmail.com or +961 3 971 579

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بيروت، لبنان – عندما تصل الكرفانة، يركض الأولاد بإتجاهها. يستمتع الأولاد مع أهلهم بمشاهدة عرض مدته 40 دقيقة يقدمه فريق من المهرجين، الموسيقيّين، الممثلين ومحركي الدمى – لبنانيّين وسوريّين يسردون قصص حقيقيّة عن أهمية التعليم.

 مشروع “الكرفانة – لنرجع عالمدرسة” هو مبادرة مبتكرة تتضمن عرض مسرحي في الشارع تهدف لمحاربة إحدى المخاطر التي يواجهها الشباب في لبنان. مع بداية العام الدراسي وبحسب يونيسف، هناك 180 ألف طفل سوري و50 ألف طفل لبناني خارج المدارس، مما يحد كثيراً من قدراتهم.

يستخدم مشروع “الكرفانة – لنرجع عالمدرسة” صيغة خلّاقة ومسلية لتوعية الأهل والأولاد عن أهمية التعليم ولتزويدهم بمعلومات عن تسجيل أولادهم في المدرسة لهذا العام.

 هذا العرض مبني على ستة قصص حقيقيّة تطرح عدد من المواضيع، بما في ذلك الزواج المبكر وتأثيره على تعليم الفتيات، التحديات التي يواجهها النظام التعليمي اللبناني، عواقب عدم الحصول على التعليم، وقصص نجاح لأشخاص ثابروا على التعليم وتأثير هذا الأمر على حياتهم.

 يتضمّن العرض تسجيلات صوتية، هريج، دمى وموسيقى ويُقدم في مساحات عامة في لبنان كل نهار جمعة وسبت من 7 تشرين الأول حتى 4 تشرين الثاني 2016، بهدف الوصول للمجتمات التي تضم أولاد لا يرتادون المدرسة. هذا المشروع هو جزء من حملة يونيسف “للعودة إلى المدرسة” #أنا_حاضر.

  الكرفانة “لنرجع عالمدرسة” هو ثاني عرض من إنتاج الكرفانة ويلي “الكرفانة: والعالم يسمع”، الذي ركّز على قصص شخصية عن أزمة اللاجئيّين السوريّين في لبنان وتمّ عرضه في لبنان خلال حزيران وتموز 2016.

إذا كنتم ترغبون بتغطية المشروع أو مشاهدة عرض أو مقابلة منظمي المشروع والممثلين، الرجاء التواصل مع زينة صفير zeinasfeir@gmail.com أو على +961 3 971 579.

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The Caravan Performances

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أنهينا جولة الكرفانة في لبنان

قدمنا 40 عرضاً في مختلف المناطق اللبنانية: في البقاع (2000 لبناني، 3700 سوري)، بيروت (700 لبناني، 150 سوري، 150 فلسطيني)، وفي الجنوب (300 لبناني، 100 سوري)

خلال جولتنا، حدثت التفجيرات في البقاع فإضطررنا لإلغاء بعض العروضات بسبب الجو المتوتر وحظر التجوّل المفروض على اللاجئين في العديد من الضيع. ولكننا فرحنا عندما لاحظنا أن الناس كانوا متفهمين لإتخاذنا هذه الإجراءات

بالنسبة لردات فعل الجمهور، كانت العروضات في مخيمات السوريين إيجابية معظم الوقت. شكرنا الأشخاص لمشاركتنا قصصهم وسألونا لماذا لا نعرض المسرحية للمجتمع اللبناني. عندما عرفوا أننا سنعرض المسرحية للبنانيين، كانت لديهم الرغبة لمعرفة ردات فعلهم

عندما قدمنا العرض للجمهور اللبناني، كانت ردات الفعل متفاوتة: 80% إيجابية و20% سلبية. بكى الكثير من الأشخاص خلال وبعد العرض، والبعض تأثّر وشعر بأن هذه القصص عالمية وتحدث في كل المجتمعات الفقيرة. في الكثير من العرضات، شارك المشاهدون قصصهم بعد العرض أو خلال النقاش

نحن سعيدين لأن الممثلين من فريق البقاع شعروا بالفخر الشديد لمشاركتهم في هذا المشروع. كان أداؤهم مليء بالشغف والحماس والفخر لنشرهم أصوات عائلاتهم
قال أصغر الممثلين، درغام، أنه لن ينسى أبداً هذه التجربة التي أثّرت به و أنه يرغب في ممارسة هذا العمل عندما يكبر. قال سيّد أنه يشعر بالفخر لمشاركته في هذا العمل وأنه يشعر بأن العالم يتقبلونه أكثر من ذي قبل

بعدما إنتهينا من جولتنا في لبنان إتجهنا إلى تونس

شارك كل من ليال غانم، عبدالله جطل، محمد لطوف، سابين شقير ومصطفى يموت (زيكو هاوس) في مهرجان بلا حدود، الذي أقيم في مدينة نابل

كما شاركنا في نشاطات صفاقس عاصمة الثقافة العربية، وفي سيدي منصور

كان عرضنا في سيدي منصور ملفتاً لأننا قدمنا المسرحية في الساعة ال12 ليلاً وتفاجئنا بتواجد 1500 شخصاً بإنتظارنا! كنا قلقين من أن أحداً لن يأتِ ليشاهدنا في هذه الساعة المتأخرة

كما فرحنا عندما إكتشفنا محبة التونسيين لبلاد الشام وأهلها. خلال العروضات، شاركوا معنا كثيراً وأحبوا العرض وتحمسوا للمشاركة بآرائهم العديدة

نحن متأكدون أن الناس متعطشين لسماع القصص الشخصية لاجئين، ونعتقد أن علينا تقديم عرضنا لجمهور أوسع. نود أن ندعو الناس إلى التعامل مع شؤون اللاجئين بتعاطف أكبر، وأن نتحدى الخوف والوصمة السلبية، بطريقة سليمة وأكثر فعالية

وبالنسبة للأشهر القادمة، نأمل بنقل عرضنا إلى أوروبا قريباً
لذلك، نأمل أن نجول بقصصنا في المدن الأوروبية وأن نتشاركها مع أناس متشوقين للتمعّن بالتحديات والإنتصارات اليومية للشعب السوري


_DSC4551The Caravan tour in Lebanon has come to an end.

We have performed 40 shows all over Lebanon: the Bekaa (for 2000 Lebanese, 3700 Syrians), Beirut (for 700 Lebanese, 150 Syrians, 150 Palestinians) and the South (for 300 Lebanese, 100 Syrians).

During our tour, the Qaa attacks happened, so we were obliged to cancel some shows seeing as the atmosphere in the Bekaa was quite tense and many villages imposed curfews on refugees. People were very supportive when we started the tour again.

As for the audiences’ reactions, the shows performed for Syrian refugees in the camps were very positive most of the time. People thanked us for sharing their stories and wondered why we don’t take the performance to the Lebanese community. When they knew that we were actually performing for Lebanese people, they were intrigued to hear about their reactions.

When we performed for the Lebanese audience, the reactions were 80% supportive and 20% against. Many people cried during and after the performance, many got emotional and felt that these stories are universal and are happening with all poor people. We had a lot of shows where people shared their stories as well after the show or during the debate.

We are also glad that the cast from the Bekaa were very proud to have participated in this project. They were performing with such passion and excitement; proud to be helping in spreading the voices of their families.

 

Dergham, the youngest of the performers, said that he will never forget this experience that marked him and that he wants to do the same when he grows up. Sayed said that he feels proud that he was part of this and that he feels people are accepting him more than before.

After finishing our tour in Lebanon, we headed to Tunisia!

Layal Ghanem, Abdullah Jatal, Mohammad Lattouf, Sabine Choucair, and Moustapha Yammout (Zicco House) performed in the city Nabeul, within Festival Without Borders.

We also performed in Sfax as part the Arab Capital of Culture event, and in Sidi Mansour.

The Sidi Mansour performance was particularly interesting because we performed at 12am and we were surprised to find an audience of 1500 people waiting to watch us! At 12am! We were worried that we wouldn’t find anyone in the audience.

We were also happy to discover the Tunisians’ love for the Levant and for Levantine people. They were participative, they loved the show and they were very eager to share many of their opinions with us.

We are positive now that people are eager to listen to personal stories of refugees and we think it is important to share this performance to a wider audience. We want to invite people to consider refugee issues from a place of increased empathy, allowing fear and negative stigma to be challenged and changed in a safe and therefore more effective manner.

Therefore, we are hoping to take these amazing stories to European cities and to share them with people who are excited to take a closer look at the daily struggles and triumphs of the Syrian people.

Press Conference and Tour Schedule

On Tuesday June 14 2016, Beirut DC held a press conference to announce The Caravan project. The conference was attended by many media representatives who received an in depth preview of the project as well as the tour dates for The Caravan street performances. The tour will begin with the First group formed of Syrian refugees from the Bekaa who felt responsible for spreading the word and sharing their stories in yet another and new medium.

For the tours at the coast, we chose a group of professional Syrian actors to perform the street performance.

Check out the schedule below and follow Group 1 and Group 2 around.

the caravan schedule EN2


عقدت جمعية بيروت دي سي مؤتمراً صحفياً لإطلاق جولة مسرح الشارع التابعة لمشروع الكرفانة بحضور العديد من ممثلي الصحافة. تم التحدث بعمق عن خطة العمل التي قام الفريق بالعمل عليها للوصول الى هذه المرحلة والنتيجة كما تم التحدث عن جولة مسرح الشارع التابعة للكرفانة التي  سوف تبدأ يوم الثلاثاء ٢١ حزيران مع الفريق الأول الذي اخترناه من أشخاص من مخيمات اللاجئين السوريين في البقاع

أما الفريق الثاني فسيعرض في المناطق الساحلية. هذا الفريق يتألف من ممثلين سوريين محترفين

تابعوا البرنامج وتابعونا لمعرفة أماكن العروضات

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Their Story in Their Own Voice

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After few weeks of workshops and days of recordings, we can say that so far, the experience has been energizing and confusing all at the same time. The daily interactions, sharing of stories, trust, laughter, tears…all of this has made us certain of the value of a project that creates these spaces for things to be spoken and shared. And the tagline that we chose, almost impulsively, “The World is Listening”, is the banner under which this space has been created. Our participants want the whole world to hear their stories.  Suddenly our role, as recorders and presenters, as the megaphone, becomes more than a simple digital or mechanical task. It is a creative challenge, one of listening to the language beneath the words, to empathizing with the hidden meaning which must so urgently be shared. To share someone’s story, you must first understand why it is so urgent to them.  What is the profound message underneath it?  What do they want the world to hear?  One person may talk of selling the family cow, and for them this could mean defeat, or it could mean rebirth. The facts alone do not make a story, and words alone do not carry a message. To understand a story you must understand the storyteller.  You must understand their deeply unique inner landscape, and the way in which each action, each event, affects it.

We know that the world does listen. However, journalists, politicians, artists, and even the people we interview in the camps, use the most powerful and gripping parts of the stories, in an attempt to understand and communicate them. How do we re-train ourselves to listen for new life, new meaning, new messages, and new understandings in this barrage of language?

Keep listening. Here are our first stories

“The Caravan” is a project that puts Syrian refugee voices from the Bekaa valley at the heart of a street theatre performance, literally, through the use of recorded storytelling audio. It is a project by Beirut DC, Sawa for Development and Aid, Clown Me In, Theatre Témoin co-funded by the European Union in Lebanon, Prince Claus Fund, UNICEF Lebanon, Goethe – Institut Libanon 
The Caravan project is co-funded by the European Union within the framework of the regional program Med Culture
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