Arts & International Affairs: Volume 2, Number 2 | Page 137

The Tender Power of Anger
Reem Alsayyah
Reem Alsayyah was born in Damascus, Syria as the third of eight children. She studied networking
engineering at the University, and in 2012, with only three exams left until graduation, Reem was
forced to flee Damascus and was unable to complete her degree. The War in Syria forced Reem and
her family to cross the border into Jordan and to take on a new name: “refugee”. In Amman, she
worked as a secretary and an interpreter. She also volunteered at UNISEF and on many projects
supporting refugees (primarily children and women). Her first experience in theater was when
she participated the workshop and performance of Syria: The Trojan Women. Although the cast
was denied visas to perform at Georgetown University and Columbia University in 2014, she still
participated and shared her story via Skype from Amman. The cast has performed the play in
Switzerland and the UK (under its new name The Queens of Syria) in a critically-celebrated tour
that included stops at the Young Vic and Edinburgh, and she has had the opportunity to share how
the war impacted her life with thousands of audience members. She served as the lead coordinator
for an Arabic version of Oliver by Lionel Bart, performed by children refugees from Syria, Iraq,
Jordan, and Palestine. Currently, Reem is studying BIT online at Amity University in the United
Kingdom after receiving a scholarship from the European Union and British Council, and hopes to
continue to work with refugee children in theater.
For most of us, anger is a negative feeling that can make us feel guilty for
experiencing it. We can get crazy, hurt people we love, and even say things
we do not mean if we let anger control us.
But for me anger is a power, one we can harness and transform into an
action to fight for change.
When the war started in Syria, I was afraid, very afraid. Even after my family
and I left Syria, the escalating violence turned that fear into anxiety. I had
persistent nightmares about going back; there was always something chasing
me in my dreams. I always wanted to run away.
Weeks and months passed. I remember watching Syria on the news—more
victims, an even bigger refugees crisis. The whole
world was sinking in a dark sea of shame and silence.
My anxiety became anger. I was very, very angry. I
wanted to scream and shout; I wanted to shake this
world. But in the same moment, I felt so weak and
helpless.
All of that suffering tore my soul into pieces and I
began to feel my anxiety take a hold of me. The
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