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“ The Intisar Foundation drama therapy programme made me stronger. The facilitator would lead us through the sessions, telling us that we are, indeed, strong people.
I found my strength through their words and our shared experiences.”
My name is Jana. I am a 35-year-old Syrian widow living in Iklym Mghayreye, Lebanon. I am a mother of five, and I am also raising my brother’s four children.
Prior to coming to Lebanon, I was living in Syria, but I had been widowed there already. Plus, since my brother had also died, I had to take care of his children, along with my own. I worked many different jobs in cleaning and cooking for different companies and private houses. My in-laws stopped talking to me and left me and the children to fend for ourselves, so we even had to sleep on the streets, on garden benches. I had to do the impossible to keep them all fed. Eventually, I managed to complete my paperwork and bring the children and myself to Lebanon.
Life in Lebanon was not easy as we first had to live in a camp. Life in the camp is very harsh, especially for the children who were impressionable and at risk of being taken advantage of.
Because of all of this, I often felt severely depressed, my body was exhausted. I have been both the mother and the father, an aunt, a provider, a baby sister, and a worker. I could often see the struggle in my face, the black circles under my eyes, the lines that started forming too soon.
I often have trouble falling asleep at night, I stay up thinking about the future of the nine children in my care. There have been times when I felt I might lose my mind, but since I am responsible for 9 children, I always think that if anything happens to me, I won’t just be hurting myself, but my entire family.
Then, a few months ago, I was approached by some of the workers in the centre who told me about the drama therapy programmes offered by Intisar Foundation. I was curious to see what it is about. During the first session, I had reservations and I was thinking, “Are we really going to dance? This is so silly.” I had not danced in a long time and felt strange in a room full of people. But when I danced, my body felt better and the tensions were released. The music was freeing, more beautiful than anything I had experienced in a long time. It helped me relax, it actually helped me overcome some of my depression.
“ I had previously tried talk therapy, and simply said, my previous experience with psychological therapy was horrible, I had done only five sessions, and I would leave each of those sessions feeling suffocated. I did not feel like the therapist really wanted to help me or had any empathy. She would often tell me things to do, but I could never do them, there was no real progress.”
I would spend the entire session laughing and having a great time, I would wait all week for Monday when the sessions were held and I when would get to see the women, the facilitator, and the staff of Intisar Foundation. They treated us well. I had previously tried talk therapy and simply said, my previous experience with psychological therapy was horrible, I had done only five sessions, and I would leave each of those sessions feeling suffocated. I did not feel like the therapist really wanted to help me or had any empathy. She would often tell me things to do, but I could never do them, there was no real progress.
With drama therapy, it was different. I started repeating the exercises at home with the children, and they all became quieter and more manageable. The children would learn from me, and over time, we started dancing together and doing the body-warming exercises together.
I especially enjoyed the day when we did a field trip and we got to personally meet HH Sheikha Intisar AlSabah. She has a kind soul and it clearly shows through the work that Intisar Foundation does.
The Intisar Foundation programme made me stronger. The facilitator would lead us through the sessions, telling us we are, indeed, strong people. I found my strength through their words and our shared experiences.
I found myself more willing to hand over my issues to God. I pray for the wars to end so that we all can achieve Peace. We all long to go home. Until then, I hope all women, Syrian, Palestinian, or Lebanese, refugees, or non-refugees, can join the Intisar Foundation drama therapy programmes.
Officially registered as a humanitarian organisation with the Charity Commission for England and Wales in 2019, Intisar Foundation is the first charitable organisation in the Middle East dedicated to providing psychological support programmes of drama therapy to Arab women affected by the brutality of war and violence.
Intisar Foundation
Number 22, Mount Ephraim,
Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN48AS
UK Registration Charity Number: 1182384
For more than a month, we are witnessing how international humanitarian law fails to protect Palestinian mothers and children.
Day after day, we have been lamenting and denouncing new acts of violence that brought injustice and the bemoaning loss of innocent lives in Gaza.
And yet, Palestinians in Gaza still face new perils with every next hour.
In writing this letter to the world as a demand for action to end this suffering, I join millions of others who have condemned the continued Israeli aggression and call for an immediate ceasefire.
We at Intisar Foundation also invite you to join us in working on preventing this trauma to linger and gnaw through another generation of Palestinians, and Arabs in general.
The mission of Intisar Foundation is to bring Peace to the Arab world through the psychological recovery of Arab women traumatised by war and violence, which can result in the women stopping the continued cycle of violence inflicted on or by them.
In this way, our work helps Arab homes traumatised by violence become more Peaceful again.
The ripple effect of this outcome can be that Peace flowcharts from one Arab home to another, from one Arab community to another, reaching and affecting our whole region.
In its very essence, therefore, Intisar Foundation’s work has always been about breaking the chains of trans-generational trauma.
While I salute people around the world confronting this injustice – from the world’s best universities, influencers, civil society activists and organisations, to ordinary people taking to streets and social media to raise their voices for Peace – I am now certain that we will not resolve the Palestinian crisis only with ceasefires, humanitarian aid, or rebuilding their homes and neighbourhoods.
We need to recover and protect the souls of current and future generations of Palestinians, and all Arabs, from this trauma.
To that end, Intisar Foundation is committed to turning this terrible man-made tragedy into a healing woman-led victory for Palestine, for humanity!
Intisar AlSabah
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