Reports | 25 05 2020
Only one year. That was all it took the young Bayan to mount the German theater stage, and perform in a language other than her Arabic mother tongue; thereby confirming that, among the Syrians in Europe, there is a large pool of varied talents.
Bayan Jaraatli reached Germany last year at the tender age of 18. She did not know anyone there, and she had left her architecture studies in Syria aiming to study medicine at a university in Germany. Her High school graduation grades certainly permit her to do so, but she abandoned this idea to follow her ambition!
"I wrote two books [when I still was] in Syria, and I wanted to stay in this domain that I love," Bayan tells Rozana, in reference to her dream of performing in the father of all arts, that has never left her; but became a reality in her country of asylum. She left medicine, and is waiting to join a German theater institute.
She the young woman joined the local German "Bar oder Ehda” theater troupe, and three months ago started preparations for the play "Das Traumboot" [Dreamboat], which was shown in the city of Leipzig for three days, 12-13-14 of the past month of October.
Along the Salamiyyeh [in central Syria] native Bayan, were also two young men, Tareq al-Khatib, and Ali Kurdiyeh, from the same city.
This was Tareq’s first participation as well—albeit in a non-verbal role. It has only been 3 months since he arrived to Germany, leaving behind his engineering studies in Syrian universities.
"I was studying architecture in Syria, but I am thinking of entering the acting domain, inshallah [God willing]," confirms the young man to Rozana, with a hefty dose of ambition. Tareq has undergone the gruelling sea-crossing experience, and was among the various waves of asylum-seekers to Europe, last summer.
Attacking Her Audacity!
The theater piece depicted a refugee boat in which refugees stem from a variety of cultural and community backgrounds, and the events they face. Bayan starred in the role of an arrogant girl, who expresses her joy and what is on her mind through dancing; and defends herself, in a clear expression of the strong role of women in society, and how they confront it, with their own capacities.
The young woman came under sharp attacks from Syrians residing in Germany, especially on a Facebook group. As usual for such types of attacks, the critics focused on the idea that a woman’s body is not to be displayed, or to dance. Some questioned how she represented her countrymen in such a manner—and so on, in that oft-repeated refrain.
These criticisms were, on the other hand, also faced by a slew of encouraging and supportive statements to Bayan’s step; stating pride in her being a Syrian who was capable of playing a dramatic theatrical role on stage, in a language other than her mother tongue.
On that issue, Bayan comments: “The criticism levelled at me was expected. Hard-liners, whether religious or cultural, are present everywhere. I actually anticipated it to be worse; but was pleasantly surprised to note that there was much more praise than harsh criticism.”
Apart from what happened, the Syrian Artists in Germany page posted a clip of Bayan’s performance in her German-speaking role. It is quite difficult to tell that German is not her mother tongue!
The page that is quite active on Facebook, wrote a comment with the clip that may probably sum up many Syrians stories, to the effect: “This young lady is from Syria. She reached Germany, learned German, and went on stage of a German theater."
Among the more than 32 thousand Syrian refugees in Germany—according to the Federal authorities—then, there are many talents. This confirms that, in the midst of the natives of the country struck by the worst disaster since World War II, there still are hidden capacities to be reckoned with!
