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Czech refugee camp

In the Czech Republic my wife and I were invited to a refugee camp. This camp had many people from many different cultures and backgrounds. Through the long process of governmental bureaucracy, it had left the people incarcerated with very little hope, losing their individuality and uniqueness to becoming a number in the system. I collect instruments from all over the world and as I played these different instruments people starting re-connecting with their own stories. A lady from Ghana heard an African rhythm and she found herself not able to keep still and with encouragement she was soon dancing before us all with all her might. Next 2 Indian men asked if they could sing a song from their village. The dancing and singing brought life to the other people watching and slowly, one by one, others emerged from the shadows to share songs, dances, verse and music. A mundane day had been changed into an amazing pageant of the stories and colours of the world in which we live in. A bridge of hope and belonging had encouraged the people and we later heard that that day had been a talking point for many days in the future.

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