The audience burst into laughter—and nearly burst into tears—as 18 youth and young adults from around Lebanon shared their life stories and struggles with identity, sectarianism, racism, and social marginalization. It was the story of a young Druze man who was bullied because he was poor, a Syrian-Lebanese woman born and bred in Beirut struggling with the country’s discriminatory nationality law, a Sunni man from Tripoli raised in a Shia orphanage on the outskirts of the capital for 14 years without ever knowing his identity, and more.
Taarafou—Arabic for “Get to Know Each Other”—is a play that Lea Baroudi, the co-founder and director of the non-profit organization MARCH Lebanon, says is more crucial than ever for the troubled country. She brought renowned playwright and poet Yehia Jaber to write and direct the play, based on the 18 actors’ real-life experiences. “After the Tayouneh clashes, the increasing friction and polarization and hatred, working on the ground is important, but sometimes you need a tool that sends a message,” Baroudi tells Al Jazeera. The play is part of a wider social program and includes group psychological support. Baroudi and MARCH Lebanon for a decade has worked on a variety of community-building and conflict-resolution projects in Tripoli and the capital Beirut.
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