Lifting Refugee Spirits Through the Power of Music

BakaraBit’s photographer Sami Haven visited Jordan’s Za’arqa refugee camp, which houses one of the largest populations of Syrian refugees in the region, with the Syrious Mission. A Dutch organization that operates in Jordan, the Syrious Mission works to connect urban Syrian refugees and locals through the creation and enjoyment of music.

The Mission official began in April 2013 when the organization realized the power of music to lift the spirits of the children in the refugee camps. Eventually, they shifted their focus to refugee groups that live outside the camps, in various host communities that became their new homes. The music workshops offered by Syrious function as stress relief for both the refugee groups and local communities, and both are invited to join in the weekly gatherings. One of the primary focuses of the group is to use music as a format for storytelling, unwinding and connecting. By running and organizing fundraisers and seminars in the Netherlands, the organization is able to raise awareness of their rather inspiring aim. Every two months, a group of volunteer Dutch musicians and teachers travels to Jordan to join in and lead the local workshop leaders.