Mayada Srouji
There are days without electricity, days without water and days without warmth. But there should never be days without hope. Hope should always be present, deep in our hearts or sparkling in our eyes.
But what if heaven is sending more bombs than raindrops and the sound you are waking up to is not the sound of singing birds, but shooting guns? Is following your dreams still relevant when you are struggling to survive? Living in a warzone may steal your optimism for a while, but it can’t steal your talents or ambitions. That is what Rasha Najeh wants to tell the Syrian youth: your dreams are yours, don’t let any situation take them away from you.
“All the channels on television are speaking about the same topic: the war in Syria. And although I am not denying that there is indeed something very sad going on in Syria, we have to dare to look further than that. It’s as if war means Syria and Syria means war. But Syria is more than that, and we are more than only inhabitants of a war zone.”
The young Syrian woman, who is still living in Syria as well, is hoping that she can inspire a nation by presenting something else on television. Something entirely different, something that seems impossible, something crazy. That’s why she is looking for “crazy” people: people who will pick up the talents they had before the war and more importantly, still have. Her show is called Crazy wanted (matlub majanin) and is a refreshing show. Television with less blood, guns, or war criminals, but with light, inspiration and motivation is her goal.
“The idea started when me and my partner Rasha Abd Alkareem where sad due to the lack of opportunities. We had a lot of ideas but unfortunately only a little amount of money. So we decided to read the stories of successful people and to learn from them. We wanted to discover how they became successful people.
And that’s how we learned something very important: When you want to fulfill your dream, you do it despite the obstacles, it never goes without obstacles! We learned that some of the world’s greatest feats where accomplished by people not rational enough to know that what they wanted to accomplish was pretty much impossible to achieve .
“I received a lot of positive messages from all kinds of people. A young Syrian lady that married on a young age messaged me that she will pick up her studies again, after seeing this show. I am seeing and feeling the beautiful consequences of these positive vibes.” Rasha says happily, “but I did receive negative messages as well. There are people who thought it is inappropriate to show happy faces or inspirational stories on TV regarding Syria. It made me mad, because Syria is not only death. And that is also what I want to tell the world, the people outside Syria: although it is true that Syrians are suffering war, that is not the whole picture! Syria is a beautiful country with a rich history, with the oldest inhabited city in the world, and culture! We are much more than desperate people.
We have a unique sense of life and beauty and we have so much to add to the world . I remember the beautiful quote from the movie ‘Eat, Pray, Love’: Ruin is a gift. It is the road to transformation. It inspired me to transform myself for the better, and this is what we as people and as a nation have to do as well: a positive transformation.”
There is still vitality in Syria. The war didn’t surrender and is still continuing her murderous road as a stubborn villain, but the people won’t surrender either. There are still Syrian students and pupils attending courses and taking exams. Between the rubble and ruins, there are great minds waiting for peace to return to their country. But until that moment arrives, they will not allow anyone or anything to take away their dreams.
This is what Rasha is doing: conquering television, hearts, and soon a nation by spreading positive vibes in the middle of angry politics. This is truly something to admire.
