JALAZONE/WEST BANK, December 8, 2011 (WAFA) - Bidna Capoeira launched new activities in the West Bank with support from the Brazilian Representative Office of Ramallah, Thursday said a press release by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA.
Eight hundred Palestinian children have taken part in these Afro-Brazilian sport and art form since March 2011.
Speaking to the children, Ligia Maria Scherer, Head of the Representative Office of Brazil to the Palestinian Authority said: “One of our aims is to promote freedom of expression and help you cope with the harsh realities of occupation.”
According to the principal of the UNRWA boys’ school, Ahmad Assi, since last semester, there has been improvement in behavior and learning among students that have participated in capoeira. “We targeted hyperactive kids and immediately noticed a positive change.”
Capoeira’s benefits extend to instructors and parents. capoeira instructor Daniel Vallejo has been training in the refugee camps for the last nine months. “The occupation prevents refugee children from expressing themselves properly. This is where capoeira comes in. Here, we are brothers. The children even come by my house on my days off asking to be trained.”
Amina, whose daughter has taken part, expressed her excitement about the programme: “My daughter is always talking about capoeira. She loves the activities and her instructor.”
Bidna Capoeira puts a great emphasis on the participation of children. In fact, the organisation’s name, “came from children in refugee camps on the Syrian/Iraqi border,” said Tarek Alsaleh, Bidna’s managing director.
Capoeira has been an effective tool for creating solidarity and harmony among participants. “We’re like a family that works and practices together. Even kids that used to fight with one another are now friends. There are rules and we learn to follow them,” said 13-year-old Muhammad Nasser.
Capoeira is a Brazilian art form that combines elements of martial arts, sports, and music. It was created in Brazil mainly by descendants of African slaves with Brazilian native influences. It is known by quick and complex moves, using mainly power kicks and quick leg sweeps, with some ground and aerial acrobatics, knee strikes, take-downs, elbow strikes, punches and headbutts.
F.R.
