Autobiography

Born in Kofor Yassif village in the Galilee- Mediterranean Sea Coast. Spiritual guideline in root family is Greek/Russian orthodox. Mother tongue language is Arabic. Until high school all learnings were in Arabic language, considering that in fact Hebrew language is the major official language in the country. In year 1998 I moved to Haifa city for 15 years of study and life. In 2013 I moved to Germany-Berlin. In Sep 2015 I was back to my homeland.

 

Haifa years were dedicated to higher studies and work in art, art therapy, dance, theatre, human rights NGO’s in the fields of women rights, sexual minorities, reproductive health and sexuality education. Haifa was a shifting point in forming my identity and the way I relate to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. My experiences and personal life has shaped my puzzle of identity.

During Berlin time, I continued investing more resources to develop and establish The Academy for Art and Life, a developing model of a new approach concerning the relation between the individual and the community and collective. Its projects are directed for self-empowerment, and healing on the personal, communal and social levels, through the three major expressive languages of arts; Visual arts, Music and Dance, as a way and an approach in life for life.

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Birth

19.02.1979

 

About the Name

ALHAN -ألحان – (أ. ل. ح. ا. ن) = the origin of the word derives from Arabic language. ALHAN is the plural form of the word LAHEN (لحن). Relates to fields of sound, music, poetry and language. The meaning in English language, according to my search, is: Melodies =Alhan / Melody =Lahen.

It is a rare name in ِArabic language. The third letter ح (أ. ل. ح. ا. ن), the sixth in number out of 28 letters forming the Arabic language alphabet, is replaced by the letter H in English and foreign languages. It has a little similarity, in phonetics and sound of the Arabic letter ح.

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Surname: 

JERIES_ASHQAR. in early years I had only Jeries as my official family name. It is common in my community to follow only the Father’s family name.  In 2012, I decided to take it to the next level, adding my mom’s family name, which is Ashqar. It felt much more complete within my personal feeling and approach. I hold both, their history and story.

 

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My identity puzzle has diverse pieces forming it. Each piece belongs to certain reality, time, history and story. My puzzle continues to grow as time goes on. My circles of life are growing too.

I lived to know rejection, non-acceptance, disrespect, violence, and abandonment through all identity components supposedly forming mine upon birth: nationality, religion, gender, social status, language, music, color and all.

Now, and after numerous journeys in and out within our cosmos, I found the little corner of peace inside; traveling beyond the components forming an identity, any identity. It is an everyday challenge to wake up to life, consciously try see the good side of it, seek the light and overcome the numerous humanly defined and practiced barricades surrounding it.

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To be continued...

 

Light & Love

A.J.A