The NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS) is this month presentingLet It Be, a choral event drawing together close to 100 performers from refugee and multicultural communities. We caught five with STARTTS spokesperson Richard Walker.
Tell us about the concept behind Let It Be.
Let It Be is an enchanting family-friendly choral singing event. In the spirit of the festive season, it is about bringing together choirs and performers from all over the world in a celebration of harmony and joy. Choirs formed from refugee and multicultural communities in Sydney will lend their voices to a repertoire spanning continents, cultures and centuries, from Iraqi sacred music to songs of freedom from the world’s newest country, South Sudan.
Which community choirs will be represented at the event?
Performers will include the Choir of Love (Arabic choral music), the South Sudanese Women’s Performance Group, Bosnian Women’s Blue River Choir, Spanish Speaking Choir, guest artists Annette Tesoriero and Elia Bosshard, plus special guests.
What services does STARTTS provide?
Essentially, STARTTS helps refugees deal with their past experiences and build a new life in Australia. Often, surviving war, torture or trauma is only the beginning and the deepest scars are the ones you can’t see. Our services include counselling and group therapy to help people deal with the psychological impacts of trauma, physiotherapy and other body-focused services to deal with the physical impacts, and community development projects to help people rebuild the social ties that are often destroyed by violence.
How important are cultural events like Let It Be to fulfilling STARTTS’ aims?
People are impacted by trauma in different ways, and it is important for us to be able to use innovative ways to try to help people overcome that trauma. Cultural events are very important for that. Torture and trauma tend to shatter a person’s identity and sense of self. The act of creating and performing can be crucial to helping people regain a sense of self and of control over their lives.
Refugees are too often relegated to a subject for political debate, but can events like this help draw the wider community’s attention to the value of multiculturalism?
Absolutely. An event like this is one of the best examples of the kind of cultural expression that can only be found in a society that is as multicultural as ours, and it is a great example of people from all over the world coming together for a common love of music.
Let It Beis playing atRiverside Theatre, Parramatta onSunday December 21, tickets online.
