Forest jumpers / Aleppo 2005
For 12 years, every Friday on my way to my gallery, I cross Aleppo’s Public Garden and I enjoy seeing these Forest jumpers together between trees in public and playing acrobat for free. I never ask them where they are from. No matter what happened, they were never late, they were always there every Friday between 3 to 6 PM, and they gave free performance to all, they never asked for money.
Now after years, Last Friday, I crossed our public garden for the first time in 2 years as it had been closed for all that time because of the war, and I remember them. I don’t know if they are still alive. I wonder if some of them became part of the free Syrian Army or government Army. Maybe there were friends of yesterday and now they are now killing each other. We saw many stories like that, Let’s hope they are fine, and let’s hope to see them again enjoying and rumbling with happiness in the public garden again.
Issa Touma, July 2014
