From sculptors to actors and filmmakers, Berlin has become a magnet for Syrian artists fleeing their country’s brutal violence to a place where they can express themselves without fear.
While Beirut and Paris have long been the destinations of choice for Arab artists, the German capital has in recent years earned a reputation as a more adventurous, progressive alternative for exiled creators.
As well as offering affordable spaces to live and work, Berlin is “the city of anarchy and rock,” says Ziad Adwan, an actor and director who arrived two years ago after spells in jail back home.
Once divided by its infamous wall, reunification energised Berlin as young people who grew up yearning to escape the stifling former East Germany met West German peers who had moved to the city for its special status that exempted them from military service.
The combination produced an open-minded atmosphere — and an uninhibited party culture — that continues to lure artists from all over the world.
Syrians have proved to be no exception.
“The Berlin cultural scene has certainly taken on a new tone,” says Syrian Ali Kaaf, who has lived in Berlin for the past 16 years and teaches at the well-regarded Weissensee fine arts school.
He helps around 20 refugee students each semester to find places in art schools, put together portfolios or recreate those lost in the chaos of their escape and arduous journey to Europe.
Some creatives have gone through subtler transformations.
“I used to write dark, depressing pieces,” muses Rasha Abbas, a writer who won a grant from a foundation in Stuttgart.
“It seems strange but since I’m here, my writing is full of humor,” she says, a smile playing across her face framed by waves of dark hair.
Some comfort on the path into an unknown future is the fact that they are living in a city, Berlin, which has had to reinvent itself from scratch.
“Damascus today is how Berlin was at the end of the war,” Muenster says.

Source: Arab News