HAITI: Women say: Enough!

Bon soir de Ayiti!  La tout se yon bon bagay!  N'ap fe bel travay avek fanm Favilek!  And as you can see my Kreyol is coming along nicely.  And good thing since the women tell me "you must learn to speak Kreyol" and are excited when I do.  Both Christina and I can handle basic conversation.  One word we have learned is... 'kadejak.' It means rape. This word may not normally be considered part of daily basic conversation, but sadly, for so many women in Haiti it is. We are working with the group Favilek to create a show about gender violence which is rampant in this country.

These women have such a strong spirit. It is hard to imagine them as victims. (Favilek -- Women Victims Get Up Stand Up -- is an organization of women who are all survivors of sexual violence). But as they expressed in their own words: they may bend us, but they cannot break us; we stumble, but we will not fall. As an assignment after our first meeting and discussion, we told them to prepare something related to the themes we had explored: justice, change, improving life for women.  A piece of text, a song, a movement. The poems they came up with are fierce and their energy passionate, indeed militant: Women say enough!  For a long time we have been walking with our hands hanging. We demand justice! And then they break into song, a rhythmic catchy tune: Men have sowed the seed of violence, but we ask that violence be replaced with love!  We are Favilek: Fanm Viktim Leve Kanpe!

We've been working intensively and things are starting to take shape.  The first days we really focused on building performing skills through workshops -- presence on stage, exploring different levels of energy, grounding the body, character and expression.  And then exploring the theme for the show through movement and storytelling exercises.  We are now sculpting the show.  This is drawn from the various things the women have come up with during the exercises of the week, including their very first assignment.  Our team then brainstorms on all the elements and we make suggestions, inspired by what the women have given us, to shape a composition.

The past week and a half has been amazing.  We have such a wonderful connection with the women of Favilek.  Our return was received with great enthusiasm and joy and we are enjoying a truly lovely camaraderie and mutual appreciation for each other and the work.

We're also going about town and meeting all kinds of interesting people.  While at the street food night market feasting on barbecued chicken, plaintains and spaghetti juice (don't ask), we ran into the legendary Haitian actor Pe Toma.  All thanks to Morlon, our Haitian artist collaborator-translator-social butterfly and great connector, who knows everybody and if he doesn't he soon will.  Petoma came to visit our rehearsals and all the women were very excited because he is very famous.  Today we paid a visit to him and appeared on National Haitian Television!   So soon we will be famous too.

That's all for now.  My time here has come to an end.  It's been a short and sweet and intense journey for me. The rest of the team is staying through March 16 to facilitate the performances the Favilek women will do around Port-au-Prince.  Stay tuned!

Na we tale!
Anna

P.S.  Spaghetti juice is a delicious shake procured from a blend of potato, banana, and spaghetti.  Who in the world comes up with such a thing?!  But trusty Morlon swore to us it was really good, so we decided to try it.  Mmm... hmm. Well, it’s not bad for a sip or two, but after a few more gulps, we couldn’t take it any more.  It’s sort of like drinking batter. 

Anna and Bond Street Theatre back in Haiti!

Finally, we return to Haiti to work with the women of FAVILEK again from February 24-March 16, 2012 to create a show about gender violence.  Here is Bond Street Theatre's press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   Contact Olivia Harris Communications Director  212.254.4614 /  olivia@bondst.org  Theatre Addresses Gender Violence in Haiti Bond Street Theatre Returns to Port-au-Prince to Create an Original Show about the Earthquake, its Tragic Aftermath, and the Ongoing Effects on Women and Girls New York, NY, February 20, 2012 - Bond Street Theatre returns to Haiti this Friday to continue their partnership with Haitian women's group FAVILEK. The program uses theatre to spread information about the violence women still face in the tent camps more than two years after the earthquake. Ten survivors of domestic and political violence founded FAVILEK (Women Victims Get Up, Stand Up) in 1991 with a theatrical response to the political coup: Ochan Pou Tout Fanm Yo Obliye (Tribute To All Forgotten Women). Bond Street Theatre met Maricia Jean, a FAVILEK co-founder, in New York City on the first anniversary of the earthquake. She requested the company's help to create a new piece about the current issues faced by Haitian women in the tent camps.  Maricia stands tall at a 2011 workshop. When asked why the group chose theatre, Bazelais, another founding member of FAVILEK replied, "to have an outlet for our feelings of what we have endured." The Bond Street Theatre Haiti team spent a month in Port-au-Prince last spring performing The Flying Head (La Tet San Ko) in the tent camps and presenting workshops for women and children, thanks to the support of the American-Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. The team and FAVILEK began work on a new performance to bring information about women's rights and the disasters of gender violence to the Haitian community.    The Haiti team - Anna Zastrow, Christina Pinnell, and Joshua Wynter - returns to Port-au-Prince on February 24, again thanks to the American-Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, to teach theatrical skills to the women of FAVILEK and develop the new show for performing in tent camps and other locations in Haiti to raise awareness about ongoing violence against women. The two groups intend to bring the performance to tour the USA. The Haiti Project will also facilitate partnerships between FAVILEK and local governmental and non-governmental organizations that need their services and performances to build the sustainability of FAVILEK and ensure more opportunities to alert community stakeholders to this pressing issue. Josh teaches stilt walking.  Two years after the earthquake in Haiti, half a million displaced people still live in tent camps and in increasingly difficult and volatile conditions.  Women in the camps face many challenges: lack of income, little to no security, supporting children alone, forced prostitution, and disease. Theatre provides a mouthpiece for Haitian women who are silenced in national and international discourse. The theatre arts serve as an effective means to ease the traumatic effects of disaster and poverty by providing a voice to the voiceless, a safe space to explore the issues, and stimulating creative problem solving and self-expression. The women of FAVILEK were enthusiastic about the 2011 project with Bond Street Theatre:"We feel so much stronger now!" "Now we feel like we can do anything!" Bond Street Theatre has a long history of creating successful theatre projects that promote community development and local capacity building, particularly in communities suffering from conflict, disaster or poverty. The ensemble returned February 14 from a month-long project in Myanmar, and will continue their Theatre for Social Development project in Afghanistan this March.        The Haiti Project is made possible by a generous grant from the American-Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, an organization that provides relief and development in some of the most crucial areas around the world, a grant from the US Embassy in Port-au-Prince, and contributions from individual donors. For more information or to schedule an interview in the US or Haiti, please contact Olivia Harris at 212-254-4614 or olivia@bondst.org.  Bond Street Theatre, founded in 1978, creates theatre that crosses cultural borders and initiates theatre-based projects for education, conflict resolution and healing in areas of conflict and poverty globally. The company collaborates with local artists to enjoy the benefits of artistic exchange and promotes the value of the arts in shaping a peaceful future.  Recipient of a MacArthur Award, the company has also received support from the Trust for Mutual Understanding, ArtsLink, the Theatre Communications Group, Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, Association for Performing Arts Presenters, Asian Cultural Council, US Institute for Peace, US Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs, NEA, US Embassies, and others, and performs in theatres and festivals worldwide. Bond Street Theatre is a non-profit organization, and an NGO in association with the UN-DPI.  Artistic Director: Joanna Sherman      Managing Director: Michael McGuigan Communications Director: Olivia Harris  Bond Street Theatre -- 2 Bond Street,   New York, NY 10012 USA 212-254-4614 tel -- 212-460-9378 fax info@bondst.org  www.bondst.org       FOR FURTHER INFORMATION and STORIES:  Bond Street on the Road blog ----- Artistic-Humanitarian Relief work ----- American Theatre article about Bond Street Theatre in Afghanistan. American Theatre article about Burma: "Can Laughter Set You Free?" by Michael McGuigan Video: Theatre project: Herat, Afghanistan  Video: Theatre project with women in Haiti Video: Theatre collaboration in Burma Video: Beyond the Mirror: NYC performance

Bond Street in Afghanistan again!

Bond Street is back in Afghanistan, just in time for the Kabul National Theatre Festival,  Sept 22-26, 2011 and staying until Nov 2. 

This time our Theatre for Social Development project continues with a new exciting theater group called White Star, based in Kabul and comprised of Kabul University graduates who are eager to breathe new life into theater arts in Afghanistan and bring important social information to the community through compelling and uplifting spectacles.


I am staying behind and holding up the fort back in NYC this time around. You can follow along the journey by reading my good friend and colleague Kayhan Irani's blog, who has joined Joanna & Michael on the road. Check out these posts:  Kabul Goes to My Head, Bigger than Me, Sisters Are Doing It, Not Just a Banana.

And updates from Michael and Joanna can be found on the Bond Street Blog.

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Afghanistan PHOTOS

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View slideshow here or click once on photo to go to full Picasa album for larger view

Afghanistan -- Performances:




Afghanistan -- the country and the people:

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Afghanistan - The General and his Men

(Wednesday April 29, 2011)

One day we go see the police commander of Herat.  He is the general in charge of the paramilitary police in the area.  This is at a heavily fortified military compound outside of the city in the middle of desert-like no man’s land.  Hakim, who runs the theater group we’re working with here (together with Monireh) is acquainted with him and ran into the commander the night before at a celebration of the Mujahideen Victory Day over the Soviets.  He arranges for us to come see him the next day.

Approaching the compound, we stop at a checkpoint flanked by gigantic sand bags, or barrels rather, and a look-out tower made of a massive mound of sandbags.  We proceed through an obstacle course of cement blocks.  Then, another checkpoint where they check our van with metal detectors and a pole with a big mirror (looking for bombs under the car).  Several soldiers in turn approach us to ask what our business is.  Then one of them, apparently a buddy to Hakim, hops up on the side of the van, hanging halfway out, and escorts us as we drive through the compound to the office of the commander. 

Tea and Theater

Upon being greeted by several officers, we are led into the commander’s office, and there he sits in full uniform behind a large mahogany desk with a flag of Afghanistan and Karzai’s portrait hanging above him on the wall.  The room is huge and lined with couches and arm chairs.  He is huge. We take a seat. The commander greets us from behind his desk and is quite congenial.  A soldier comes in and serves us tea and bonbons.  We are having tea with the police commander of Herat!

“Aha,” says the commander, when he hears about our program -- who we are and what we do --“and what can you do for the police?,” he asks.  We describe for him what our show is about.  Then the commander speaks for a while (I keep hearing the word “teatr”)… "Yes, please do a performance about family conflict. This is a very good thing to present to the men!," he exclaims. Indeed. And so the commander invites us for dinner this very night and to perform our show for his 500 police officers!  Wow. OK. Fantastic!  I was quite amazed, really.  The Afghan police commander just invited us to dinner and to perform a theater show for his men – on a moment’s notice!  Just like that.  I just could not imagine the same happening with a U.S. Army General. 

 

The Elusive Handshake

When we return in the evening, we are greeted by the commander wearing a white peron tomban (shalwar kameez, or tunic and pants) and holding yellow prayer beads (a common accessory for men here).  He shakes Michael’s and the other men’s hands, but not Joanna or mine.  One of the soldiers outside, however, stretched his arm out and gave me a firm handshake.  I was almost taken aback. He must have gotten used to being around Americans.  I was unsure how to approach the matter of shaking hands with men here and generally I did not offer my hand unless initiated by the man.  Men and women do not ordinarily touch, in Afghanistan, not even with a handshake.  We settle in the commander’s office for tea yet again and chat before dinner.  The commander expresses his appreciation for our work and our coming to do this for the police.  He says the police officers need to be aware of human rights – for women and children – and to know how to handle it in their work. 

Paramilitary and Politics

The commander, who is a general, has been in the military since the jihad days of fighting the soviets.  The police he commands are the ANCOP (Afghan National Civil Order Police).  They are involved in civil order protection as a paramilitary force, sort of in between the police and the army.  They are specially trained police who handle riots and attacks in addition to regular police patrols.  This base is a training center as well as operating base for missions and the men here are deployed from all over the country.  They only go home to their families every few months.  There are some women on the base, but they mostly do cooking and laundry.  Apparently, the commander is open to more women joining the force in all capacities.  And, there’s a daycare center!  Quite progressive.

There are two Americans on the base who join us.  One is an “embedded advisor,” that is, he is a U.S. military officer who works on his own immersed with the Afghans offering intelligence advice.  He teaches counterinsurgency and specializes in building trust in the community for the police, which in turn builds security.  To this end, he does not wear an army uniform but rather Afghan traditional clothing and there is no big military operation let by U.S. soldiers.  It’s all Afghan action (indirectly and inconspicuously guided by a U.S. military advisor); as he said, “it’s them for them by them.”  They walk around, say hi, talk to the people, find out what the problems are, hand out supplies to the children, with the intent to show care and concern.  It’s a policy promoted by General Petreus (although, our new friend says, it has received U.S. Army resistance) and has shown to be effective in Iraq.

We’ve been sitting in the general’s office for an eternity, it’s now going on 9 o’clock at night and we haven’t even had dinner yet!  Will we even get to present a show?  But finally we are called to the dining room… and then:

SHOW TIME!

We proceed to the mess hall where all the officers are gathered.  The general has changed back in full uniform and everyone quickly rises to attention.  There are almost three hundred policemen gathered, all in fatigues and military gear.  It’s a sight to see – performing a show surrounded by soldiers with AK-47s.  Luckily, they seem to enjoy it and laugh a lot.  Of course, whenever the general claps, they all immediately clap as well.  But they seem genuinely interested and watching with keen attention.  The ones in the back are standing on the chairs and tables in order to see better.  Many of them are filming or taking photos with their cell phones.  Which is kind of funny – wherever you go in the world, cell phone cameras abound, even here.

One Blonde American Woman and Three Hundred Afghan Policemen

What’s funnier is that when I turn my camera toward the audience to snap a shot of the soldiers as they watch (since I am the de facto company photographer), they immediately turn their phones away from the performance to me so they can get a shot of the blonde American woman.  I’m as much a novelty to them as they are to me, if not more. 

Indeed, it’s a bit intimidating to be here among all these Afghan military men.  As we wait for the show to begin, they are all staring at me.  I realize I’m not entirely comfortable meeting their gaze, looking at them with more than a cursory glance, aware that it is not the cultural norm here for women to assertively look upon men, and that if I do and smile to boot, I might give them ideas… ideas that they may already have about foreign (American) women.  This is all conjecture, of course.  I would have liked to speak with them one-on-one, learn about them as individuals, find out what they think of things, about the show.  But I can’t really shake their hands, and I don’t speak the language.  Afterwards, there was not much time to “mingle” and get a translator to facilitate communication.  We have to contend with the communication inherent in photographing each other.

Hassan shared with us afterwards how one of the men expressed in response to the show: “I really miss my family!”

A Good Man, A Good Life

The show the boys present (as I have described in earlier posts) is about domestic abuse and centers on a man frustrated and angry who mistreats his wife and son.  Through a journey of experiences, he has a change of heart and realizes the errors of his ways.  He hurries home to begin anew with his family. 

After the performance, we do a Q&A.  Several policemen stand up and offer suggestions on topics for another show.  Do something about arranged marriages, where a woman is forced to marry someone she doesn’t want to marry!  Do a show about narcotics!   Do a show about trusting the police!  It’s good to see several policemen enthusiastically speak up. 

Action Scene!

To top the evening off, we get a ride home in a Humvee!  All the way home from the outskirts of town, through the city center, and into the little community on the other side of town, onto a small side street, which the vehicle barely fits.  Escorted by a police truck with soldiers sporting machine guns.  It was quite the spectacle.  It was a good thing it was night and the neighborhood was asleep.  Otherwise, it might have been a disturbing sight.  Imagine if it had been the middle of the day, and we had come barreling down that little dirt road in a huge military vehicle.  Already, the neighborhood kids, whenever they see us, shout out "The Americans are coming, the Americans are coming!"

P.S.

Boys and Girls

The boys performed for the policemen as it would have been impossible to have the girls come.  They really wanted to, the girls.  But imagine 300 male soldiers living on a base rarely interacting with females, and a group of a teenage girls show up in their midst.  In Afghanistan. They would have been eaten alive.  I joked “you want to find a husband?” “No!!!”  Joanna in turn joked that they just want to go so that they can hang out with the boys and see them play.  And, I realize, of course, that’s it.  In their world, this is something unusual and special – the fact that they are hanging out together, they boys and the girls!  It is not something that occurs normally in Afghan society.  This whole time in workshops, rehearsal and outings, they girls and they boys are mixing and it’s intriguing, titillating, exciting.  And the girls are at that age where they are starting to get interested in boys (and vice versa).  There are definitely some flirtations going on.  Hush hush!

Afghanistan: The Drug Treatment Center for Adolescents

The first performance of our boys' troupe is at a treatment center for drug-addicted adolescents in central Herat.  As we enter the compound, there is a young child standing in the yard.  I think, surely he can’t be one of them!  But he can, and he is.  The patients are boys ranging in age from 9 to 17.  How do they end up getting involved in drugs?  They come from families where there are drug-addicted adults, and in which the children end up using drugs as well (opium, heroin).  Indeed, I saw a documentary on Afghan women who would smoke opium to soothe various ailments and give it to their babies to put them to sleep so that the women could work undisturbed.  In other situations, children who are working are given drugs by their employers and once they are hooked they get paid in drugs so that they’ll keep working more and more.  The treatment center runs ads on TV to bring awareness to the issue and has field workers out looking for whoever might need help.  At the center the boys get treatment and vocational training, such as tailoring, together with classes in literacy, computers and painting.  They youths stay at the center for six months.  I did not find out exactly what happens to them after this.  The young ones go back to their families, but are the families still drug-addicted or did they get treatment too?

We do the show outside for 40 boys all dressed in blue tunics and pants.  It’s a good show with great energy – kudos to our young performers! – and everyone seems to really enjoy it.  We ask if they have ever seen a play before.  None have.  Theater doesn’t really exist in Afghanistan in these times.  It’s a complete novelty for them to have something played out before them in live action.

What is the show about? As with the presentation by the girls' troupe, the boys' show addresses family conflict but focuses on the role of the husband.  It tells the story of an angry and frustrated man who mistreats his family with verbal and physical abuse.  While away on a journey, the man witnesses other ways of living and being.  He sees men who act with authority and yet with patience and kindness, and how they as well as everyone around them are so much happier.  Little by little, the man sees the errors of his ways and decides to make a change.  In great excitement, he returns home to start anew with his family.  The story is simplistically laid out here, but in its theatrical presentation it is quite affecting.  Our boys are as talented as the girls and play their roles with great commitment.  The goal is to present to the community effective and positive ways to handle conflict within the family and how everyone in the family benefits (including the husband) when there is support of each other.  We discuss with the boys the difference between the men portrayed and which behavior works best for a happy and productive home and society.

Did they like the show?  Bale! (Yes!)  Do they think it’s a good message?  Bale!!  Is this a good way to bring information to the community?  Bale!!!  What else should we do a show about?  Drug-addiction!  Indeed.

 Click image to view larger

As this is a show with the boys for the boys, Michael (being a boy) leads the workshop section, which leaves Joanna and I free to observe.  There is great excitement as Michael engages the group in a physicalized energy game and some silly clown antics.  Afterwards, one of the boys breaks out in an impromptu dance performance in our honor as guests.  Someone plays Iranian music on a cell phone as accompaniment.  The boy dances in the same style I’ve seen girls do, apparently men do the same movements, although this boy is definitely effeminate (Joanna suspects he is a ‘dancing boy’*).  Another boy joins in.  There is a fun festive feeling of spontaneous joy and celebration in our shared exchange.  And I think to myself: these are the moments I live for.  This is why I do this work! 

Khoda hafez! Time to go. Joanna and I start to leave, waving goodbye and turning to go but we turn back again and a silly game ensues between us and the boys of turning back and forth while attempting to leave.  I suddenly realize I don’t have my shoes on, and burst out “oh no, my shoes!!?”  This is apparently hilarious to the boys, and so I start to play with lifting my feet up looking at them and then looking around wondering where in the world my shoes could be.  I’m genuinely confused, but then I ham it up a bit too.  The boys follow, finding all this very funny.  Crazy foreigners!  Well, I can’t help but clown around a little!  (And I can’t help that someone took my shoes and put them away at the front entrance.)

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* For information on dancing boys, see this article: The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan

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Afghanistan: The Women's Shelter

The very first performance that our girls' troupe undertakes (outside of the try-out for family and friends) is a show at a women’s shelter in Herat.  The shelter is run by Voice of Women, an organization based in Herat led by Soraya Pakzad who has worked tirelessly since Taliban time to fight for women’s rights, and who started Afghanistan's first shelter in 2003.

 

There are about 40 women and girls at the shelter ranging in age from 15 to 25, and mostly under 20.  They are escaping abusive marriages, and in most cases forced marriages. Some were about to be married off and ran away beforehand.  They are lucky to have ended up here in the shelter, and not in jail or worse.  If they are caught by the police they risk getting raped and put in prison, and if sent back home they may be killed. 

Parwana, who works at VOW and is coordinating our visit, talks to me about the situation the women are in and decries the inhumanity of it all.  She exclaims, “they feel…!,” and searching for the words she utters something about “not human!”  I think she is saying the girls feel they are not treated as humans, but then I realize she is talking about the husbands, that they are not human the way they act.   And she tells me about one girl who came to the center.  The husband had cut off her fingers and slashed her face across the cheek from mouth to ear.  What kind of man would do such a thing?  And why?  (Beyond its senseless cruelty, it even seems senseless out of practicality -- now the husband has to look at her disfigured face, and how is she going to be able to do his cooking and laundry with her fingers cut off?  How does that serve him? But he doesn't think about this, he doesn't think at all.)  Both are true – the girls are not treated as human beings and the men are not acting as humans.  What we think of as human – humane – humanity… separating us from the beasts. 

Unfortunately, this girl’s situation is all too common. Beatings and barrages of mental abuse are an everyday occurrence for young wives in Afghanistan, perpetrated by the husband and any or all of his relatives.  Across Afghanistan, girls are forced into marriage and essentially condemned to life as a household slave.  Often the girl is young and the man much older.  It is not uncommon for a 12-year old to be married off to a 60-year old man!  Many of these girls are driven to such despair that they set themselves on fire and burn themselves to death.  It is difficult to fathom.  In the Herat area there have been 100 such self-immolations in the past year.  That’s two girls every week setting themselves on fire. 

I look at the women, at the younger girls, and wonder about each one’s circumstances.  But I don’t want to ask as it’s such a sensitive matter and I respect their privacy.  And it's time to start the show.

The women laugh a lot, and they applaud at the end of each scene!  The play is not necessarily meant to be that funny (although we have definitely incorporated some comic bits)...  After all, we’re dealing with a serious subject matter that we want to earnestly bring awareness to: the abuse that mothers-in-law so often perpetuate, and how it destroys families.  If women treat each other horribly, how can they make men treat them any better?  We want to make sure people take it to heart and are moved to make a change.  In this case, however, the laughter is good and it doesn’t mean they aren’t taking the play seriously or its message.  Presented and received as a comedy, it is easier to take in the play and what it addresses.  These women have lived through this, they don’t need to see it presented to them in a heavy and serious way.  This is how comedy can be cathartic, getting to laugh about something that is painful. The women gain some vindication in seeing their reality acknowledged.

But this is not enough.  In the Q&A afterward, one woman speaks up to tell us that we must show this play to the men, to the families, out in the community -- "they are the ones who need to see it, not us in here, we already know!"  She is adamant and angry – and we assure her that this is indeed our intent. As we leave, the woman thanks us for our visit and asks us when we will come again.   They rarely have any visitors, and hardly ever leave the shelter.  But this confinement is a blessing compared to the hell they were living before.

The shelter in Herat                                        We were not allowed to take pictures of the girls' faces

The wife in the story gets harassed on the street by two men

                                                                                                                  The husband beats his young wife while the mother-in-law eggs him on and joins in

We did it!  Our star performers after the show