Rula Salmo is humming to an original song in Arabic, played softly on the guitar by her music teacher Bashar Hanna at a community arts room in Sydney's west.
Called Mother Earth, the lyrics describe living in peace, without war. It's a theme that resonates with teacher and student, both of whom fled Baghdad as refugees and remain haunted by memories of conflict.
Rula fled to Jordan as a teenager with her parents in 2003 after their family members were kidnapped and held for ransom. Although Rula's brother escaped, her grandfather remained trapped.
“It was a horrible feeling because we didn't know what was going to happen to my grandfather. He [was held hostage] for nine days," the 30-year-old says.
“My family had to sell two of their factories to get my grandfather back.”
During the lockdowns and social restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, memories of that trauma have resurfaced, she says.
Music student Rula Salmo in Sydney. Source: SBS
“It's a very stressful time. People can start thinking very negatively. Are we going to be running out of food and drink? What is going to happen to us? Will we lose our jobs? It’s a very stressful time.”
It's a very stressful time. People can start thinking very negatively. - Rula Salmo, Music student
Both Rula and Bashar came to Australia as skilled migrants. Rula is now a high school maths teacher and is among almost 500 people - many of them refugees and those fleeing war zones - who have studied with Bashar over the past 17 years.
Bashar understands what it's like to live in a war zone. He grew up in Baghdad during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.
“Aeroplanes and fighters were everywhere, bombs were everywhere, and anybody could get killed at any minute," he says.
Bashar Hanna as a baby in Iraq. Source: Supplied
“And the people who were fighting at the front line; families were losing their sons, their children, their relatives. It's hard for a child to grow up in that environment.”
After re-settling in Australia, the engineer retrained as a real estate agent before joining the Department of Immigration and Citizenship funded IHSS program as a case co-ordinator where he was exposed to the challenges facing newly-arrived refugees.
He founded several art-based therapy groups including The Choir of Love, which partners with STARTTS, the NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors.
Based in Fairfield, one of Australia’s most multicultural postcodes, he says he helps people not only to learn English by singing but also to heal.
Bashar Hanna teaches music and runs several choirs. Source: SBS
“Music, from my point of view, is a very powerful tool; it's a language."
“Music can put some positivity in people's lives and can change their way of dealing with things. It might not solve problems but might help them to deal with problems in a more positive way.”
Music can put some positivity in people's lives and can change their way of dealing with things. - Bashar Hanna, Music teacher
Next month, they are hoping to get back on stage for their first public performance.
"I am very excited, it will be great to connect with people again," Rula says.
Bashar says during the past year many have benefited from learning and performing music.
“COVID-19 has triggered post-traumatic stress disorder for many people. A large number of refugees are from war zones and they have memories that are really painful. The trauma they have suffered needs just a little trigger to come back.”
Some migrant support services say they have seen a huge increase in requests for help.
“We have had a quadrupling in demand,” says Jana Favero, advocacy director at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.
“We're shattered as an organisation. Everyone is tired, overwhelmed, overworked beyond our capacity.
And it's not just requests for counselling they are receiving.
“We have seen an increase in demand on all of our services. People are coming to us for health services, emergency relief, and homelessness support. People have lost their jobs and are looking for employment support to become re-employed."
Ms Favero called on the federal government to extend support to those most vulnerable.
“What is needed urgently is to extend COVID-19 support packages to people on a temporary basis, to people seeking asylum and refugees and make sure that no one who's living in our community is left behind during this crisis.”
Those on temporary visas are not eligible for welfare support such as the JobSeeker and JobKeeper payments.
For Bashar, he says he hopes to do what he can for those in need.
As the lyrics in one of his songs say: "Let's build a new world that seeks certain joy, and this dream is not too far away".
"My hope is to help people who come to Australia from overseas," he says.
"Those who take that long journey are survivors. They love life, they appreciate life. I am one of them."
Readers seeking support with mental health can contact Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636. More information is available at . supports people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
