Ahna Refugjati (Theater program)

Abstract

After witnessing the ravages of war in their small Syrian village, Eleja, his wife Shari, and their three children aged 20, 18 and 10, attempt to flee their country in the hope of building a better life in Europe. But the journey proves anything but easy as a violent storm breaks out at sea, sinking the boat they find themselves on and drowning many migrants. This tragic event leads to other deaths, including that of Shari and Darit, the youngest daughter. Exhausted by the journey and grieving for the loss of their loved ones, Eleja, Hamid and Saja summon up the courage to keep forging a life in Europe, in spite of all the obstacles standing in their way.

The story of Anna Refugjati is both topical and timeless; it is a story woven out of the most basic of human needs. On the one hand are the body's bare necessities. These are basic material resources such as food, water, shelter and medical care. Against the backdrop of a contemporary world that is constantly negotiating how practical material resou rces can be fairly distributed, the opera never loses sight of other vital needs that humanity cannot do without.

Held at The Granaries in Floriana on the 31 August 2018 and 2 September 2018.