Social theatre helps Ukrainians in Poland find inner healing

“I went there during the first days of the war to pray for peace. It was there that I was shot at.” After the breakout of full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022, Alla, a 62-year-old former mathematics teacher from Kharkiv went to pray for peace in the Sviatohirsk monastery in the Donetsk Region.   

 
“Monks had died, civilians and refugees had died. We were going to their funeral service. Along the way, we were targeted with shells. They were just shooting at us,” says Alla as she describes how she got wounded together with four other civilians.  

She was transported to Poland on a medical train and admitted to a hospital in Warsaw. “My state of mind changed and I very clearly felt this feeling of calm. When you are there, in the middle of it, and there is constant shelling, the anxiety is very strong. I realized I was no longer in the midst of a war. And they were at war. It was like black and white,” she continues.   

After spending some time in hospitals, Alla moved to one of the shelters supported by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Warsaw where she received medical and psychological assistance. IOM’s Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) team accompanied her to medical appointments, helped with translation, and provided psychological sessions. Most importantly, thanks to Vlad Bialkevich, an IOM Social Worker, who accompanied her at the hospital, her wounded hand was saved. “The doctors didn’t want to admit me into the hospital, but Vlad convinced them that I needed urgent medical attention. I owe him my life and my hand,” says Alla.  

“I realized that Poland is my homeland, because it is the homeland of my grandfather and here is my family,” she says when asked how she feels in Poland. With her two children living abroad, Alla resides in Poland alone.    

She quickly made new friends after joining the social theatre workshops organized by IOM MHPSS staff in Warsaw. “The aim of the workshop series is for migrants with similar experiences of escape, war, family separation, and home loss to feel at ease with each other. Together, they create a safe space which enables them to develop a process of researching and expressing oneself. These workshops allow them not only to gain acting and scenic experience, but also to re-gain the feeling of belonging and find a spirit of community in displacement,” says Inga Shemaeva, who is leading the project.  

“IOM and different NGOs use social theatre in many crisis and post-crisis situations: for emergency relief, in rebuilding community capacities, and for democratization. Many formal and informal groups, belonging to minority communities, have been able to raise their voices, be heard, and be politically included thanks to the power of social performance,” says Guglielmo Schininà, Head of the MHPSS Global Unit at IOM and one of the foremost specialists on Social Theatre in the world. 

 “The most important thing here is that we do not evaluate ourselves or others. We just express ourselves. We simply reveal the depth that is hidden in us and we manifest it. And sometimes we are surprised ourselves at what lies within us,” says Alla after having attended the workshops for a couple of weeks.   

At the Baza Theatre, migrants build relationships with each other, and they also learn a lot about themselves, they gain confidence, and learn how to express their feelings on stage. This also implies learning how to recognize and manage these feelings.  

“It is an extraordinary group. "I enjoy spending time here. It is very interesting and important to us.  Everyone reveals very deep things about themselves,” adds Alla.  

Alla’s participation in this project can help her deal with the difficult experiences she has been through. Performing on stage and telling her story could have a therapeutic effect on her, Ingabelieves. 

The workshops culminated with a live theatrical performance at the Baza Theatre in Warsaw, with Alla on stage.  

The social theatre workshops are made possible with the support of U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. 

This story was written by Ewelina Kawczynska, Public Information Coordinator at IOM Poland.