So first of all I call them into a circle - it's 'Dayira' in Arabic. So 'Dayira, dayira,
dayira. Yalla in dayira, yalla in dayira'. And then we just start what we call 'call and
response'. So we throw our hands up, hands down, and in that way we kind of, we're forming
an agreement that we're going to work together and that I'm going to lead it. and that's
what it is it's an opt in play process.
And then we go into duck-duck-goose, but that's quack-quack-whoof.
But everything is done non verbally, it's all done with movement and sound, and just
infinite amounts of eye contact, I have a kind of private mission that I want every
kid to leave thinking they were my favourite.
How important is it for them to be happy? Or for them to laugh?
It's so important. I mean, laughter is like - there's there's two types of laughter - One
is involuntary and one is in response to the situation. But both of them represent one
thing, which is relaxation. And laughter is the ultimate expression of confidence. It
means that you've seen something, you feel relaxed, and you've judged it as laugh-worthy.
That's so important. It's not as you say, it's not just what they've been through. It's
not just what they're going through. It's also what they've picked that they're future
is going to be. And without confidence, and without being able to picture themselves as
something like a teacher or a footballer or whatever you dream of. Without that, they've
really got no reason to engage in anything. So that play and that laughter - it somehow
validates their position as a child, as important. You know, grown ups can learn a lot if they
shut up for five minutes and watch kids play and watch kids interact. And watch kids dream
up the most incredible ideas, you know, and it's not ludicrous. It's tomorrow's innovation
is what these kids are dreaming of now. And I was quite naughty when I was a kid. So,
I don't mind the naughty ones because what are the naughty ones? The naughty ones are
the inventors. The naughty ones are the innovators or the activists, or the social rights movements
of tomorrow. The ones who don't abide the rules just because they're the rules. Some
of them are going to be some of the most important members of the future and of society. If they're
encouraged, then, yeah. I just look at them with pure love. We really love them. I love
everybody. I love everyone in the world. And I look at them, and I make sure they know
like, whatever they do. I love them for it. You're amazing. You're - wow!
Do you often return to the same camps and see the same children you've seen before a
few years ago?
Yeah, we return to the same camps and this is the unusual thing about this situation.
And obviously we've been running about 10 or 11 years, in Romania I would see the same
kid we're in, year out. And it's weird, because I say, maybe I see you, but I hope they're
not still there in 6 months.
The nice thing is that we've managed to see them along their journey. So I met a kid on
the border of Syria, in Lebanon, who I then met in Lesvos in Greece, who I then met in
Germany, who I then saw on Facebook had made it to England. The strange thing is, I'm happy
when I turn up, and they're not there anymore. Now, I think, at least they've gone somewhere.
in your TED Talk. You talked about this interaction with one of the young boys and how he was
triggered by the smell of tear gas. Can you share that experience?
Yeah, that was in Idomeni. Idomeni was a horrific - I think it's probably one of the most, and
I don't like to get political, but I'd say it's one of the most shameful moments in European
history since I've been alive at least, where they decided, in spite of many people having
made journeys that took them years, the decision was made that they were no longer able to
continue. And so a 'bottleneck' is a small word for what happened. Ten, fifteen, twenty
thousand people on a piece of land next to the border of Macedonia. And we went in every
day, like five, six, seven shows a day for weeks and weeks and weeks. And there was this
little guy, and we were doing a show and I do a thing where I eat a load of tissues,
and I pull them out in one long line. And I've just stuffed it in my mouth. And then
the kids startled, a bit like a horse, you know they were really skittish. And they were
like, 'Mister Mister, you have to go' you could smell something in the air. And I kind
of knew from Calais jungle where the police there usea lot of tear gas so I knew the smell,
but it was you know, - they knew it like that. And they were like, 'Come come come'. And
so I had to follow him and he you know he was running and we have our policy which is
we use a safe word called 'Chaplin.' If I say 'Chaplin', I mean, Charlie Chaplin, which
is we keep smiling, but we walk as fast as you can before it's a run to safety. I was
like 'Chaplin, Chaplin'. We were following him and he took us over a hill and under a
train. And then yeah, when we got to the other side, I don't know if I've added this out
of romance or something but he was such a generous and caring guy. And I think he was
worried that we were scared. And so he called us to a circle. He said 'Dayira, dayira' which
is what we say and then he took magic trick that I taught him three days before that he
was rehearsing. And he made us do all the call and response stuff then yeah, he performed
the magic trick and he wasn't scared by what had happened and if he did, he didn't show
it. His interest was to either entertain us or calm us and he definitely wanted to shift
the atmosphere like we've been doing for weeks.
And wanted to make sure that you guys are okay?
Yeah, he wanted to make sure that we were okay and that we weren't shook up and that
- and I think sometimes they want to make sure that we're going to come back and that
they haven't offended us by how dangerous it is. Or they haven't upset us because it's
dirty or raining. You know, when you go past the tent and the family and invite you in
for tea, And they're sorry they haven't got coffee. It's very beautiful. It's heartbreaking
for all the right reasons like the generosity and the care and the pride. You know, you'll
sit in a tent eating a bowl of hummus and some bread and the mother and the family will
be so proud to be able to have guests, it might be a two-man camping tent that the six
of you are sitting in but her pride to serve you and to feed you as a guest, it's phenomenal.
And those kids are the same you know, they really want to look after you. Arabic culture,
The hospitality is like nothing we've ever seen.