RAQQA, Syria (North Press) – In the dialect of the Euphrates region’s people, the 12-year-old Jonyor Feraij from the city of Raqq in northern Syria is performing a character in a play titled “Umm Hoiash” in preparation for an arts festival for children.
Feraij is happy while repeating scenes of the play in order to perform the character professionally when the festival begins in July.
Preparations for Bara’em al-Tofoulah (Childhood Buds) festival are ongoing in Raqqa Center for Culture and Arts. This is the third year in the row the festival is held.
Feraij expresses her pleasure for her participation, aiming at urging “other children to fulfill their dreams.”
“Each individual has a dream he/she seeks to fulfill. He/she should not give up until it gets true,” she added.
The festival lasts three days, the first day includes performances that are acted in Raqqa Center for Culture and Arts in the city center and the other two days the shows are performed in the countryside of Raqqa.
In July 2020, the Raqqa Center for Culture and Arts organized a first festival for children which entitled Childhood Buds, after the city had missed such activities during the years of the Syrian war.
Sa’ed Kehais, supervisor of training process for the festival, said that trainers started the preparations and training children ten days ago.
“Now, we are gaining fruit of the trainers’ efforts,” Kehais added.
“Children are trained to sing in Kurdish and Arabic. There are other shows including theatrical performances, drawing, Debka, and folk dances,” he told North Press.
The trainers confirm that these performances and shows reflect customs and traditions, the region is known for.
The supervisor stressed that the organizers of the festival would evaluate the performances and honor the strongest show during the festival.
Children under 15 from different areas in Raqqa and its countryside will perform the shows during this event. Additionally, children from other areas in northeast Syria will participate in it.
Farah Karkok, another participant, is no less happy than other participants in the training since she will play a grandmother in a play entitled “Back up and Harvest.”
The Back Up and Harvest is a play talks about customs and traditions of the Euphrates’ people in previous decades.
“I am really happy for my participation in the children festival for the third year,” Karkok said.
During the Syrian War, Raqqa was captured in 2013 by the Syrian opposition and then by the Islamic State Organization (ISIS) in 2014. On October 17 2017, following a lengthy battle that saw massive destruction to the city, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) declared the liberation of the city from the ISIS.