Voices ResourcesA website for the worldwide community around the journal Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy

My husband and I have been on sabbaticals from our respective universities during this spring semester. We took this opportunity to take our children (ages 4, 8, and 10) out of school for two months of travel in Italy, Germany, Greece, and Lebanon. We feel that international travel is an essential ingredient in educating children.

We were lucky enough to spend nearly two weeks in Lebanon during our travels. My husband's four grandparents emigrated from Lebanon to the northeastern part of the US (Massachusetts) a century ago. My in-laws, who had never been to Lebanon, accompanied us for this part of the trip.

We have many, many relatives in Lebanon and were able to experience this beautiful country in a way that most tourists could not. We were able to visit the hometown and houses that my in-laws' parents grew up in, meet many cousins, eat the most delicious food, visit the famous cedars of Lebanon, enter the caves of Jeita, be awed by the ruins of Baalbek, and enjoy the warmth of the Mediterranean Lebanon is a beautiful country with many warm and friendly people. I thank our friends, the Atayas, and family, the Kattars, Azizes, and Rahyems, for making us feel at home.

One place that we visited was indeed very special. It is called the Ataya New School and is located in Beirut, the American University of Beirut and near to where we were staying. This school is owned and run by dear friends of our family, Ramzi and Maria Ataya, and Ramzi's mother Helen. We were lucky enough to spend most of one day at this school. My middle daughter, Kylene, joined a classroom of Lebanese children (including her new friend Alexi Ataya) for the afternoon. I and my other daughters, Adele and Mariele, spent time on the playground just hanging out with the school children as they played, ate lunch, had drama or gym class. I found the children to be very intelligent, open, and warm, as well as interested in and accepting of our family. I was also moved by the dedication of the teachers. In my discussions with them, it was clear they not only understood the needs of the children m but also knew how to meet those needs in creative and caring ways.

I was also very aware of the role that music therapy could have in this school and probably many other schools in Lebanon. There were several children at the Ataya New School who had disabilities. One young girl in particular captured my attention. She was probably about 10 years old and spent some time at school walking in various patterns around the playground. While doing this she would emit short vocalizations and then quickly bring her hand to her mouth - perhaps to quiet herself, or perhaps to feel her breath as she made these sounds. She was quite beautiful, and she moved in such a delicate way. At times she would come near my daughters and me, looking at us, with her head tilted, as if to come to terms with the foreigners at her school. I longed to reach out to her, to sing back to her, to mirror her movements and engage her.

This experience left me wondering about music therapy in Lebanon. I am curious to find out more about how the profession is developing there. Where are music therapists working? Where are they training? How can we support the development of the field in Lebanon?

Meanwhile, the Ataya New School will have a website up and running by mid summer with extensive information about the school - its philosophy, curriculum, and ways to support their efforts. I encourage you to find this website and find out more about this inspiring school and the wonderful children and teachers.

I hope to get the opportunity to return to Lebanon in the near future to see friends and family, visit the Ataya New School and to find out more about how music therapy is developing in Lebanon.

How to cite this page

Forinash, Michelle (2004). Music Therapy in Lebanon?. Voices Resources. Retrieved January 14, 2015, from http://testvoices.uib.no/community/?q=fortnightly-columns/2004-music-therapy-lebanon