The situation in Iraq has never calmed down. Gangs in official police uniforms kill and kidnap at commercial shops, bodies show up on streets as militia death squads wander freely, university professors, and scientists are assassinated one after the other, and people continue to suffer from lack of everything, even fresh air. Nothing was spared in this country. This time, it reached young actors.
Few days before they decided to perform their play in the first festival of the Iraqi Children Theater, Fuad Radhi and Haidar Jawad were murdered in cold blood. Radhi and Jawad were actors of children plays. Joined the “Happy Family” acting team two years ago, they both dreamt of a brighter future for Iraqi children through the plays they were intending to perform on theater.
Yesterday, the festival started in Baghdad with the absence of Radhi and Jawad. Their murder did not prevent the organizers from opening the festival. They considered the murder a motive to go on and challenge terrorism that may never stop in a collapsed country.
Last Thursday the actors were murdered when they left the theater after a long day of hard work on their “The Clown and I” play which they were supposed to perform on Saturday.
Iraq’s culture minister, Nouri al-Rawi, gave a speech at the opening of the11-day festival. “It delights us to see Iraqi artists and authors continue concentrating on the children culture and work hard despite the difficulties and problems,” the minister said before an audience of 200 people.
The organizers of the festival say the aim of this carnival is to change the violent atmosphere Iraqi children going through. “We look forward to rescue the children from the disastrous atmosphere,” Awatif Naeem, one of the most famous Iraqi actresses and directors said to Asharq Al-Awsat, a Saudi London-based newspaper.
The plays that are performed by senior and young Iraqi artists concentrate on how struggle between good and evil looks like. Fatin al-Jarrah, director of Children Culture Center and the director of one of the participating plays “The birds return to their nests” said the play concentrates on this theme, the struggle between the good and evil. “The play portrays a snake attacking a nest of birds forcing them to leave it.,” Jarrah said. “By the cooperation of other birds, the snake was defeated.”
Few days before they decided to perform their play in the first festival of the Iraqi Children Theater, Fuad Radhi and Haidar Jawad were murdered in cold blood. Radhi and Jawad were actors of children plays. Joined the “Happy Family” acting team two years ago, they both dreamt of a brighter future for Iraqi children through the plays they were intending to perform on theater.
Yesterday, the festival started in Baghdad with the absence of Radhi and Jawad. Their murder did not prevent the organizers from opening the festival. They considered the murder a motive to go on and challenge terrorism that may never stop in a collapsed country.
Last Thursday the actors were murdered when they left the theater after a long day of hard work on their “The Clown and I” play which they were supposed to perform on Saturday.
Iraq’s culture minister, Nouri al-Rawi, gave a speech at the opening of the11-day festival. “It delights us to see Iraqi artists and authors continue concentrating on the children culture and work hard despite the difficulties and problems,” the minister said before an audience of 200 people.
The organizers of the festival say the aim of this carnival is to change the violent atmosphere Iraqi children going through. “We look forward to rescue the children from the disastrous atmosphere,” Awatif Naeem, one of the most famous Iraqi actresses and directors said to Asharq Al-Awsat, a Saudi London-based newspaper.
The plays that are performed by senior and young Iraqi artists concentrate on how struggle between good and evil looks like. Fatin al-Jarrah, director of Children Culture Center and the director of one of the participating plays “The birds return to their nests” said the play concentrates on this theme, the struggle between the good and evil. “The play portrays a snake attacking a nest of birds forcing them to leave it.,” Jarrah said. “By the cooperation of other birds, the snake was defeated.”
