{"id":4496,"date":"2017-10-26T16:19:13","date_gmt":"2017-10-26T13:19:13","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2019-01-29T12:22:09","modified_gmt":"2019-01-29T10:22:09","slug":"dabbas","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.faceforward.gr\/en\/faces-stories\/dabbas\/","title":{"rendered":"Dabbas"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"Dabbas\"
Dabbas (Syria)<\/em>, 2017,\u00a0Gicl\u00e9e fine art print, 120 x 165 cm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dabbas<\/strong>
\n24 years old<\/strong>
\nSyria<\/strong><\/h4>\n

I like being in Greece.\u00a0I like the climate, the sun and the people.\u00a0Before coming here, I lived\u00a0for some time\u00a0in Turkey\u00a0and I wasn\u2019t able to adapt so well as here.\u00a0In\u00a0Greece,\u00a0people are open and\u00a0warm,\u00a0like\u00a0in Syria.\u00a0Moreover, Athens is vibrant until late at night.\u00a0Whenever you go out, you will meet people and that makes me feel beautiful.\u00a0I’m not a morning\u00a0type;\u00a0I like to wake up late, to start my day\u00a0late and go to bed late.\u00a0That’s\u00a0why sometimes I go walking in the evening.\u00a0If I had a bicycle here, as I had in Syria, I would take long rides to see more places in the city.<\/p>\n

I like walking around Athens.\u00a0The neighbourhood around the building where I live reminds me of Damascus: the square, the caf\u00e9s, the green spaces, the old buildings.\u00a0Turkey gave me the impression\u00a0that it is evolving very quickly and thus\u00a0losing its traditional colour, while in Greece\u00a0this colour is\u00a0still\u00a0maintained.\u00a0I also like the area around Monastiraki. I visit it quite often.\u00a0 I like the archaeological sites there. I have found a little caf\u00e9 where I go often because it plays music which sounds traditional and is pretty much like what we listen to in\u00a0Syria.\u00a0That’s why I\u2019ve come to love Greece.\u00a0I don\u2019t feel like a stranger.\u00a0The air, the faces, the people, everything seems very familiar to me.\u00a0Others\u00a0want\u00a0to\u00a0leave\u00a0and\u00a0go to another country where it is easier to find a job.\u00a0I want to stay here.<\/p>\n

Although I prefer to be out, I have decorated my room in such a way that I feel comfortable and I enjoy spending time there, too. During the last month\u00ad\u00ad-and-a-half I have been living on my own, without a roommate, which is better. I\u2019ve set up a small office in a little corner, where I often watch movies on my cell phone, especially\u00a0at night before going to sleep.\u00a0It is very good that there is Wi-Fi in the building, so I can watch movies, listen to music, and also communicate with other people.<\/p>\n

In\u00a0my room I\u00a0have somehow\u00a0\u2018transferred\u2019 the profession I had back home.\u00a0In Syria I was working on computers and repairing mobile phones.\u00a0So here, too, the other building residents have got to know me, and when they have a problem with\u00a0their\u00a0mobile,\u00a0they ask me\u00a0to\u00a0fix it for them. I have applied\u00a0for a\u00a0job\u00a0at several shops repairing cell phones because the truth is that I\u2019d rather have a normal job.\u00a0But, although\u00a0I\u00a0still\u00a0haven\u2019t received any positive feedback, I think that this, too, will happen soon.<\/p>\n

I was glad to have the opportunity to participate in the\u00a0Museum1<\/sup>\u00a0programme\u00a0and the meetings we had there.\u00a0In the beginning, when I was informed about the programme, I thought that we would go to a museum\u00a0to see ancient artefacts.\u00a0I liked the idea because, as I said before, I like the ancient past, history and tradition.\u00a0But at the Museum2<\/sup>, we saw contemporary art.\u00a0For me, it was something completely new, and I was happy to have the chance to\u00a0see and learn\u00a0new things.\u00a0From the works I saw,\u00a0my favourite one was created by a Greek artist, Alexandros\u00a0Georgiou3<\/sup>, which is connected in some way to ancient\u00a0Greece;\u00a0it depicts the Parthenon.\u00a0When I saw\u00a0it,\u00a0I thought of a Greek song, which always touches me. \u00a0I barely understand the lyrics, but the melody is traditional, as if coming from the old\u00a0times,\u00a0which I really like.\u00a0I was told that it is traditional from Crete,\u00a0and I recognize that there are many common musical instruments\u00a0between this song and the traditional music of Syria.\u00a0I’ve heard\u00a0so many things about Crete, its music\u00a0and\u00a0generally\u00a0the tradition of the island and\u00a0I\u2019d\u00a0like some day to go\u00a0there\u00a0and get to know\u00a0the place\u00a0and its\u00a0people.<\/p>\n

The song which Georgiou\u2019s work brought to mind, performed by Nikos Xilouris, is the following:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Farewell4<\/sup><\/em><\/p>\n

Have you learned, dear Aretousa, of my mournful fate?<\/em>
\nYour Lord has exiled me to tread the earth of a foreign land.<\/em><\/p>\n

He gave me but four days before I must depart<\/em>
\nAnd make my way to a far and distant land.<\/em><\/p>\n

But how can I bid farewell and from your side absent myself?<\/em>
\nHow can I live without you, how shall I endure this exile? […]<\/em><\/p>\n

My dear Lady, I ask you grant me but one favor<\/em>
\nAnd given this, glad at heart I will meet my end.<\/em><\/p>\n

The hour you are betrothed, breathe a deep and heavy sigh<\/em>
\nAnd when you don your bridal garments and another man\u2019s wife become,<\/em><\/p>\n

Utter this tearful cry:<\/em>
\n\u201cPoor Erotocritos, what I have pledged to you is now forgotten,<\/em>
\nAnd what you hoped for shall never be.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

And in your chambers once each month<\/em>
\nRemember what I endured for you and the pain my heart now feels.<\/em><\/p>\n

And take out the sketch inside your chest,<\/em>
\nAnd the songs I sang for you that you so loved.<\/em><\/p>\n

And gaze upon them, and read them and remember me<\/em>
\nAnd think upon my banishment in that far and distant land. [\u2026]<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I would also like to learn how to play music.\u00a0I feel I express myself more easily through music\u00a0than with words. But I don\u2019t listen to traditional\u00a0music only.\u00a0Therefore, I\u2019ll tell you about a\u00a0rap\u00a0song,\u00a0by a famous rapper from Syria,\u00a0Isma\u00efl Tamer, written about the situation in Syria\u00a0today.\u00a0The\u00a0video of the song starts with a strong image: the minaret of a mosque and\u00a0a\u00a0Christian\u00a0church, one opposite the other.\u00a0It goes on with pictures of everyday life in Damascus\u00a0today.<\/p>\n

Some\u00a0of the\u00a0lyrics\u00a0go:<\/p>\n

When you say you are a Syrian, say it loud,<\/em>\u00a0[…]<\/em>\u00a0My Syrian brother, grab my hand, enough with the tragedies<\/em>\u00a0[…]<\/em>\u00a0I’m thirsty, there is no water, so I drink my tears.<\/em>\u00a0..<\/em>\u00a0The solutions are prohibited and the voice of the law is gagged<\/em>\u00a0…<\/em>\u00a0Just take a step forward, do another ten back,<\/em>\u00a0[…<\/em>\u00a0]<\/em>\u00a0Go back as you were in Damascus, I do not want to die<\/em>\u00a0[…]<\/em>\u00a0The scent of jasmine together with that of\u00a0blood,<\/em>\u00a0tears of a father shuffled together with those of a mother<\/em>\u00a0[…<\/em>\u00a0]<\/em>\u00a0Brainwashing molds most\u00a0people,<\/em>\u00a0my dreams are big,\u00a0when you say you are a Syrian, say it loud<\/em>\u00a0[…]<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1\u00a0<\/sup>Refers to the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens.
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>Refers to the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens.
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>Refers to Athens, Parthenon<\/em>, 2007- 2008.
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>Part of Erotocritos<\/em>, lyrics by Vincenzo Cornaros, music composed by Christodoulos Chalaris.<\/p>\n

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Audio Files<\/strong><\/h5>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]\u0395\u03bb\u03bb\u03b7\u03bd\u03b9\u03ba\u03ac<\/p>\n

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English<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/www.faceforward.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/mp3\/Dabbas-E.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

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\u0639\u0631\u0628\u064a<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/www.faceforward.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/mp3\/Dabbas-A.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

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\u0641\u0627\u0631\u0633\u06cc<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/www.faceforward.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/mp3\/Dabbas-F.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

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[vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″]Slovensk\u00fd<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/www.faceforward.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/mp3\/Dabbas_24_Syria.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

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[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1511022388651{margin-top: 30px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text] Dabbas 24 years old Syria I like being in Greece.\u00a0I like the climate, the sun and the people.\u00a0Before coming here, I lived\u00a0for some time\u00a0in Turkey\u00a0and I wasn\u2019t able to adapt so well as here.\u00a0In\u00a0Greece,\u00a0people are open and\u00a0warm,\u00a0like\u00a0in Syria.\u00a0Moreover, Athens is vibrant until late at night.\u00a0Whenever you go out, you will meet […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":18,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4496","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.faceforward.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.faceforward.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.faceforward.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.faceforward.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.faceforward.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4496"}],"version-history":[{"count":60,"href":"https:\/\/www.faceforward.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4496\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7961,"href":"https:\/\/www.faceforward.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4496\/revisions\/7961"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.faceforward.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.faceforward.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}