As Sadeq Jafari switched on his electric piano, his students shunted their wheelchairs enthusiastically around him to rehearse new songs.
Music therapy, a common practice in large parts of the world, is extremely rare in Iran, where conservative clerics outlawed pop music after the country’s 1979 Islamic revolution.
Jafari, 33, is one of a handful of therapists in the Islamic state who use music to help severely disabled people find their voices, risking the ire of his conservative family and censure from religious authorities.
Photo: Reuters
照片:路透
Kahrizak Charity Foundation, in a leafy campus on the outskirts of the capital Tehran, is home to hundreds of physically handicapped people, young and old, who lack financial support.
Each Monday, dozens wait impatiently for Jafari to walk through the door.
Jafari grew up in a religious family which found all forms of music unacceptable. His relatives initially cut ties with him, but their stance softened when they saw the impact of his work on the lives of his patients.
Photo: Reuters
照片:路透
Reza Bakhtiari was paralyzed at six and lost his sight at the age of 30. “It has been three years since I began to attend these classes ... It is like a life skills training,” said Bakhtiari, now 45. “Now that I’ve got the courage, I have published two poetry books.”
It can take up to three months to teach a new song. Jafari also has to overcome cultural barriers, including the shyness of his female students. Many Iranians disapprove of women raising their voices, a problem when it comes to rehearsals.
Iran’s musical restrictions have eased over the past decade and pop music has become increasingly common in some parts of society. But the idea of female artists singing or dancing in front of male audiences is still completely taboo.
Photo: Reuters
照片:路透
Staff at the center say music does much more than cheer people up. “Music shortens the recovery period since it has a calming effect ... It gives them energy and even alleviates the physical pain,” psychologist Marzieh Alaleh told Reuters.
Jafari uses a lot of traditional Persian folk songs with familiar themes. He describes the changes in his patients as ”tangible.”
(REUTERS)
Photo: Reuters
照片:路透
當薩德克‧賈伐瑞開啟電鋼琴開關,他的學生滿腔熱忱地移動他們的輪椅,圍繞賈伐瑞排練新曲。
音樂治療在大多數的國家是稀鬆平常的事,但對伊朗來說,則極為罕見,因該國的保守教長在一九七九年伊斯蘭革命後,使流行音樂成為非法。
三十三歲的賈伐瑞,是伊斯蘭國家中,許多應用音樂幫助重殘人士找回自己聲音的治療師之一,從事此業是冒著可能導致其保守家庭憤怒且被宗教當局譴責的危險。
卡瑞薩克慈善基金會座落在首都德黑蘭外圍林木茂密的地方。此處也是上百位缺乏經濟後盾的老少身障人士的居所。
院內許多人每週一,都會熱切期待等候賈伐瑞的到來。
賈伐瑞在一個不接受任何形式音樂的宗教家庭長大。其親戚原先與他斷絕關係,但當看到賈伐瑞所做所為,帶給其病患生命的影響力,他們原先的立場也隨之鬆動。
現年四十五歲的瑞札‧巴赫地亞里自六歲起就癱瘓,三十歲失明。他說:「我從開始上這些課程迄今已三年…它就像是個生活技能訓練。」他說:「我現在已有勇氣,並且我已出版了兩本詩集。」
教導一首新歌,需要花上長達三個月的時間。賈伐瑞同時也要幫忙克服學生的文化障礙,包含女學生害羞的個性。許多伊朗人不允許女性提高他們的嗓音,這讓排練變得傷腦筋。
伊朗在音樂上的限制已在過去十年間逐漸放寬,流行音樂已在該國某些地區愈趨普及。對於女性藝術家在男性觀眾面前唱歌跳舞,則仍是完全的禁忌。
療養院的員工說,因為音樂不單只讓人們心情變好。心理師馬茲齊耶赫‧阿拉列赫告訴路透說:「音樂因有安撫人心的效果,能縮短復原時程…它給予病患力量,甚至能減輕身體疼痛。」
賈伐瑞運用許多帶有熟悉主題旋律的傳統波斯民謠。他表示病患的轉變,是「有目共睹的」。
(路透/翻譯:林亞蒂)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
It’s another school day with the same ritual. You wake up to your smartphone’s alarm, scroll through messages during your commute, and listen to your favorite playlist with your wireless earbuds between classes. These devices, integrated smoothly into your daily routine, certainly make life more convenient. However, where do these devices end up after you replace them? In fact, the issue of electronic waste is a growing global concern. According to the United Nations, in 2019 alone, we generated an astonishing 53.6 million tons of e-waste—an average of 7.3kg per person. Projections hint at the figure soaring to 110