Refugees for Refugees

Multinational ensemble of refugee musicians

The Refugees for Refugees Band is a band of 10 musicians who are refugees in Belgium and come from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tibet. Under the artistic direction of Tristan Driessens, these virtuoso performers created a common repertoire that reveals the talents and cultural treasures that have become virtually invisible in Belgium and builds bridges between the musicians and the different traditions they represent, in order to produce perfomances that are rich, innovative and a mark of diversity and cultural exchange. These are experienced musicians who have been trained at some of the most prestigious music academies in the Middle East (Damascus, Baghdad, Aleppo) and who have passed through a string of musical centres dotted along the former Silk road. In the past, they have enjoyed a rich career, international fame, and a variety of projects. But now, they have been forced to flee the disastrous situation in their home countries, uprooting themselves and abandoning their contacts, taking only their musical talents and instruments with them. These talents form the basis of the project. Together, we aim to develop a project that will help them to find their place and reconstruct their lives in Belgium. Tammam Ramadan, a Syrian ney player gives another dimension tot the Aman Yusufi’s Afghan love song with energetic well dosed solo’s. Asad Qizilbash dialogues through his sarod with the qanûn of the Iraqi master Souhad Najem, as if they have been doing it forever. And Aren Dolma is the vocal witness of a mesmerizing singing tradition that lives in the Tibetan highlands.