Dance can help children recover from the trauma of war. Well, that’s the belief and hope of the members of the project Bidna capoeira (which means “We want capoeira” in Arabic spoken in Syria and the Palestinian Territories), who want to help children living in refugee camps in the Middle East discover this Brazilian discipline, which is somewhere between a dance and a martial art, and promotes cooperation.

Bidna capoeira work in refugee camps in both Jordan and the West Bank. Bidna also used to have instructors in Syria, notably in the city of Raqqa, before it fell under the control of the Islamic State jihadist organisation in July 2013.

"In capoeira, there are no winners or losers"
Abed Abou Gharbiah has taught capoeira in Ramallah since 2011.

These children have grown up in situations of chronic insecurity. Many of them have had friends or family members shot or imprisoned. This violent environment causes all kinds of psychological problems for children, including hyperactivity, stress and anxiety. The goal of these capoeira classes is to channel this energy and transform it into something positive to help these children to flourish.

We give classes all over the West Bank in both youth centres and schools. We pay particular attention to the children and young people who live in refugee camps, especially in Jalazone, al-Ammari and Shufat. There are four of us who teach capoeira in Ramallah and we offer training courses all year, made up of weekly classes that last an hour and a half.

Capoeira is unique because is an activity that unites sport, music and dance. Children who study capoeira learn a sport based on acrobatics, but they also learn to play musical instruments and sing.

Capoeira is definitely a martial art, but it isn’t like karate, for example, which generates a negative energy because you have to beat your adversary. In capoeira, there are no winners or losers. Instead, to be really good, you have to learn how to adapt to your dance partner. So it is an activity that promotes dialogue and cooperation.

At the end of each class, we organise what we call a roda [a circle], during which children can express and share their worries, frustrations and hopes.

This exercise is really satisfying because we have noticed that, as time goes on, many children who were very closed off in the beginning have become more social, more relaxed and more open toward others.

We have been working to expand our project to the Gaza Strip in early 2015 and we hope to maintain this goal despite the Israeli blockade.

France24