A festive New Year's concert with the participation of artists from Moscow was held in Damascus for 700 children who were left fatherless during the war in Syria.
Igor Tkach, a member of the Russian parliamentary delegation to the Syrian Arab Republic and Deputy Head of Moscow's Department for External Economic and International Relations, told reporters that the children were given gifts from the Russian capital's government.
"We wanted to create a festive mood for the children of Damascus. We gave the children presents on behalf of Moscow, handed them Christmas trees, which have already been installed in the opera (Al-Asad House of Culture and Arts - ed.), in the Embassy (of Russia), in the Moscow Patriarchate Church. And of course this will create the prerequisites for friendship between Moscow and Damascus schoolchildren," Tkach said.
The concert was preceded by master classes in painting wooden matryoshkas, drawing and other children's entertainment in the halls of the Opera House. The program consisted of several parts, including a performance of "The Christmas Tree," a fairy tale "Aladdin," drawn by a Russian artist using sand, and a dance by Syrian children. According to Dmitry Sablin, coordinator of the State Duma group for relations with the Syrian parliament, more and more schoolchildren in Syria today want to learn Russian.
"Five years ago it would have seemed strange, but today children are learning Russian, they are eager to learn it. Many of the children of the dead (fathers) were already in Russia, and we see a genuine interest in the Russian language... The main thing is that our children become friends with Syrian children, that our teachers, our doctors communicate with them. It is very important, because (here) there is a lack of such information," said Sablin.
In addition to representatives of the State Duma, the delegation also included employees of the Moscow government, the administration of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic and social activists from the organization of veterans "Battle Brotherhood." Earlier, Russian parliamentarians agreed with their Syrian counterparts to expand cultural cooperation, especially in the study of the Russian language.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from RIA Novosti