RAPARİN BAKER

Shahba- Members of the Culture and Art Center in North and East Syria’s Shahba Canton express the sufferings of displaced people of Afrin by singing stran(s) (English: Songs). Through songs, they also pass their culture, experiences and resistance down to the next generations.

Mufida Hamdi is one of the members of the center and she has been singing songs since her childhood. “I have loved singing stran (s) since my childhood. I learned how to sing with the support of my family. My aim is to preserve our culture against the assimilation policies of the enemy,” said Mufida Hamdi, who is also a displaced person of Afrin. “After being forcibly displaced from Afrin to Shahba, we lived in the Berhadan camp (An IDPs camp). We have founded our centers and organizations to uphold the principles of the revolution. I am also a member of the Hîlala Zêrîn Cultural Movement. Societies are known for their cultures. We, as Kurds, are known for our culture. For this reason, we must preserve our culture.”

Mufida Hamdi sings stran (s) to relieve the pain of being displaced. “After being forcibly displaced to Shahba, my love and devotion for our culture increased. The aim of the enemy in Afrin is to eliminate our culture. For this reason, we preserve our culture even though we live in tents. We keep resisting in the camp by singing stran (s) and being involved in art. We resist policies that try to undermine our culture, language and cause,” she told NuJINHA.

‘We relieve our pain’

Zilan Al-Khalil, another member of the center, began to sing with the support of her mother. “I became a member of the center at the age of 11 with the support of my mother. That time, I did not know anything about culture and art. I learned more about culture and art after being forcibly displaced to Shahba. We try to relieve our pain by singing stran (s). The aim of the enemy is to destroy and eliminate our culture and we resist the enemy by preserving our culture.”

‘We should pass our culture down to next generations’

Speaking about the role of women in the revolution in Rojava, Zilan Al-Khalil said, “The revolution has paved the way for women to prove their role in all spheres of life, including in art. Our grandmothers and grandfathers preserved our culture and now we should preserve our culture by passing our culture down to the next generations.