Växjö stjärnor band sings for a safe and peaceful childhood

Batoul Al-Amir came from Syria to Sweden with her three daughters in 2015. She now works in several activities with women, children and refugees. Among these activities is a course to train children to dance and sing, which resulted in the creation of the Växjö stjärnor performance band.

How did the idea to create Växjö stjärnor come about?

– I wasn't planning a big project from the beginning but I started with a few kids who used to come to us wanting to dance and sing.The beginning was to open a training course for children wishing to learn dancing, singing and theater performances at Sensus. We started the training course in 2019, and we meet once a week with the children and they train for two hours. Then the idea of creating the band came after we saw that the children develop in performance and perform wonderfully. In addition, some children in the band were performing theatrical and performance shows in schools and concerts in their countries, and when they came to Sweden, they did not have the opportunity to express themselves and their talents. Because there is no platform for immigrant children to express themselves. The idea was to create a platform to develop children's talents and create a cultural exchange between them.

Batoul points out that the aim of establishing the band is to create cultural exchange between children, and to promote integration.

– We aim to provide a message through songs and dance performances for children. We provide purposeful and educational songs for children, for example the multiplication table and geometric shapes we teach to children by singing and dancing on it, in addition to promoting their human values such as helping others, kindness and respect, as well as honesty and all the good behaviors that children should learn. She says.

According to Batoul, Växjö stjärnor group consists of 23 children.

– When the children started they were shy and hesitate a lot, today they are more confident and excited to perform. Most of the children are from different cultural backgrounds, and they are happy and excited about the performances they give, especially when we tell them that their performance has a lot of messages for children to hear and watch. Batoul says.

How many shows has Växjö stjärnor performed?

– The children performed a lot of performances related to the activities of the Sensus. In addition, they performed in Araby Park arena during the Sports Week.

Does the band have shows they will be performing soon?

– Yes, the children will take part in a concert on May 26, for the benefit of Ukrainian refugees, in the Växjö musikhuset. In addition, we have another participation in the beginning of May at the Araby park Arena.

Batoul wants to complete her studies to continue her profession as a teacher. In addition, she has many activities targeting women, children and refugees in cooperation with Sensus and Medborgareskolan.

– We do not want to be a burden to society, but we want to contribute to society effectively. It is difficult to find a job, but I try to offer many activities. I am an activity leader for many activities, among other things I have an activity that targets women, where we meet and discuss societal issues. I have another activity aimed at women and children that includes visits to important and historical places in Växjö to learn about the city and its history. I also have an education in skin care. Because women in Sweden are so practical that they forget to take care of their beauty. I have experience in handling herbs and benefit from them. In addition, I have a business in collaboration with the Citizens' School for refugees. Soon there will be activity for Ukrainian refugees, and we will help them get to know and get involved in Swedish society better. Because we know very well what it means to be a refugee in a new society. says Batoul Al-Amir.

During this meeting, we met the children of Växjö stjärnor and we asked them, What does it mean to them to create the Växjö stjärnor band and what do they want to present through it.

Sima and Massa Al-Sarraj say, "We were very active in Syria, where we performed a lot of performances at school parties and others. We want to continue dancing and singing for children and childhood, and contribute to promoting cultural diversity and spreading joy among children and providing a meaningful message to other children."

– I love my mother a lot and I am proud of her, because she trains us and encourages us to continue dancing for childhood and peace.” Sima adds.

– I love to sing for childhood because there are many children suffering from wars in different parts of the world. We want to sing for peace for all the world." Massa says.

– We love dancing and singing because we want to teach other children good manners and human principles through dancing and singing. We also love to sing for the whole world. We would like to thank our teacher, the founder of the band, for creating a platform for us to express ourselves and our talents." Both Jodi and Shady Deeb say.

– We love to dance and sing for peace in the world and for the happiness of other children. We love to sing for Ramadan and happy occasions. We love Araby Park Arena because it is the place where we feel free and express ourselves and our culture freely. Tala and Joud Salloum say.

– I love dancing in order to spread the culture we came from and integrate it with other cultures. We also like to present a meaningful message through our songs. Razan Azal says.

– We love to dance because we learn many wonderful things and good life values through it. We learn to dance and sing and learn beautiful values besides that. Both Malak and Russell Zabon say.

What are the future plans of the Växjö stjärnor band?

– I hope that many children of different backgrounds will join the Växjö stjärnor ensemble so that we create cultural diversity and present performances from different parts of the world. So I plan to translate the songs for other children who do not speak Arabic. We also plan to expand and create theater shows in Swedish and Arabic. says Batoul Al-Amir.