Get to Know Each Other is a play but also part of a wider social programme that includes group psychological support.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Kareem Chehayeb<\/a><\/strong> Published On 21 Feb 2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beirut, Lebanon<\/strong> \u2013 The audience burst into laughter \u2013 and nearly burst into tears \u2013 as 18 youth and young adults from around Lebanon shared their life stories and struggles with identity, sectarianism, racism, and social marginalisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s 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 \u2013 and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taarafou \u2013 Arabic for \u201cGet to Know Each Other\u201d \u2013 is a play that Lea Baroudi, the co-founder and director of the non-profit organisation MARCH Lebanon, says is more crucial than ever for the troubled country. She brought renowned playwright and poet Yehia Jaber<\/a> to write and direct the play, based on the 18 actors\u2019 real-life experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter the Tayouneh clashes, the increasing friction and polarisation and hatred \u2013 working on the ground is important, but sometimes you need a tool that sends a message,\u201d Baroudi tells Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe idea was to showcase the main issues plaguing our country, through the new generation even, and remove all the stigmas related to regions and highlight how important it is to agree that we do not need to fight based on a certain identity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The play is part of a wider social programme, and includes group psychological support. Baroudi and MARCH Lebanon for a decade have worked on a variety of community-building and conflict-resolution projects in Tripoli and the capital Beirut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The performances took place in Beirut\u2019s Sunflower Theater, right by the Tayouneh roundabout where armed clashes between Christian Lebanese affiliates and Shia parties Hezbollah and Amal took place last October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was hesitant at first, but after meeting Yehia Jaber and Lea Baroudi, I decided to go for it,\u201d 31-year-old Ibrahim Nazha tells Al Jazeera. The tattoo artist and aspiring rapper was the eldest among the actors, all of whom never acted on stage before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n