Noor left Pakistan when he was 26 years old and made it to Serbia in the beginning of 2017. Almost two years later on, he is a lead singer in two bands, gaining popularity across the country.
“Music is a universal language. It is my passion. You have the opportunity to perform and show to the world who you truly are through music,” said Noor Javed, young asylum seeker from Pakistan, whose story begins in the Social Café of Obrenovac Reception/Transit Centre (RTC), over a year ago.
Social Café, a project by “Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation”, began in 2016. The aim of Social Café is to offer refugees a place where they can spend quality time, enjoy tea or coffee while playing board games with their friends, listen to music or watch a movie, and where they can also engage in occupational activities, attend courses and develop new skills. Since July 2016, the Foundation organized over 1,500 different workshops in their Social Cafes, with over 4,000 participants.
Changing the initial concept of the workshops, Dušan Kolarevic, the workshop team leader with wide musical experience, talks about how it all started: “Now, this workshop is specific because you have to know the instrument’s soul, how it vibrates, how it sounds. You have to know how to play and you have to show up regularly for rehearsals,” says Dusan, adding that there are two rehearsals per week, and once a week there is a jamming session for everyone accommodated in the Centre, and those interested in joining the musical workshop later on.
The Social Café began its life in Obrenovac RTC in April 2017. Since its inception, one of the workshops was particularly interesting to the public – the music workshop – as the only form of interactive entertainment available in the centres across the country.
The result is the Social Café Obrenovac Band (SCOB). The band has united young men from different parts of the world with a common goal – to produce good music. For now, the band consists of lead guitarist Dušan Kolarević, lead singer Noor Javed from Pakistan and drummer Franc Luis Brito from Cuba.
“In the beginning we had unplugged sessions. Then slowly, recognizing our quality and talent, UNHCR and other organizations provided us with professional equipment, and now we have a proper band,”
– Noor remembers the band’s beginnings, between rehearsals for an upcoming gig in the Centre.
Noor and other musicians from his band fuse Serbian, Pakistani, Iranian, Afghan, Cuban and Somali influences in their music. So far, the band performed in a number of concerts, in Serbian, English, Urdu, Farsi and Spanish language, which made them popular both with the refugee and migrant community and with the staff of governmental and non-governmental organizations active in the Centre.
For the newcomers, these music workshops give them a sense of belonging and contribute to their empowerment and self-esteem, while recognizing their talent and effort.
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