Zaher Al Jamous will present her first radio play at the SonOhr Festival, taking place from 27 February to 1 March in Bern.
A founding member of Lucify.ch and a freelance journalist, Zaher fled Syria in 2015 with her three children. She went through a long and difficult process to obtain refugee status in Switzerland, but was unsuccessful. However, she was eventually granted a student permit and was able to remain in Bern. As a media activist, she has long reflected on issues of migration and belonging. With Al Azal, she approaches these themes on a deeply personal level — as a woman, a mother, and a refugee. We met Zaher to talk about her journey and the story behind the project.
Perla: Hallo Zaher, welcome to Lucify.
Zaher: Hi Perla, thank you for the invitation.
Perla: Zaher, you are a founding member of Lucify.ch, but today you are here as a guest, because your radio play Al Azal will be competing at the SonOhr Festival this year.
Zaher: Yes, thank you. And it is pronounced Al Azal. I know Arabic words can be difficult to pronounce. Being selected for the SonOhr Festival is not only recognition for the project itself, but for the whole journey that led to it.
Perla: It was a long journey?
Zaher: Yes. It began around ten years ago.
Perla: So, what is Al Azal about?
Zaher: It tells the story of a Syrian woman — her childhood, the war, and her flight from Syria to Switzerland. The story unfolds through flashbacks and begins here in Bern, at the Migration Office. I was inspired by the questions asked by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM).
Refugees are asked very personal and detailed questions to determine whether they will be granted protection. For a woman, especially, this situation can be extremely difficult. Imagine sitting there, often interviewed by a man, and being expected to recount traumatic experiences — sometimes including sexual violence. There are things a woman cannot easily speak about in such a context.
The radio play reflects this moment. It asks for more understanding of what women experience during asylum interviews here in Bern and beyond.
Perla: What motivated you to produce this piece?
Zaher: We live here together, in the same society. Women need a voice. I wanted Al Azal to be the voice of every refugee woman. Many of us share similar experiences. We fled, often alone, often as mothers with children. We arrived without support, carrying our stories and our trauma. This play gives voice to those stories.
I also hope that people working in migration institutions might listen to it. Perhaps it could encourage reflection. When a woman sits in front of an official and is asked to revisit traumatic events, she is reliving those moments. It is not easy to answer “yes” or “no” about experiences that are deeply painful. Women need support before and during such interviews.
Perla: You are a journalist. You could have written an article or conducted interviews on this topic. Why did you choose fiction and the radio play format?
Zaher: Because I wanted the story to have life. I originally wrote it as a film script ten years ago. But as a newcomer in Switzerland, without contacts in the film field, it was difficult to make it. So I turned it into a book. Publishing it was also not possible at that time.
Finally, I chose sound. I transformed the story into a radio play because I love working with voices. I did not want the audience to see a specific face. I want people to hear the voice of Al Azal — and then see her in every refugee or migrant woman they meet. The voice enters you differently. It allows imagination and empathy.
Producing it was challenging: writing funding applications, contacting institutions, gathering actors in the same place at the same time. But I was incredibly lucky. Wonderful actors joined the project, even without financial compensation. They believed that this story needed to be heard. It was challenging, but also beautiful. And I learned a lot.
Perla: Now that you will present your play at the SonOhr Festival, how do you feel?
Zaher: I feel proud. Truly proud of myself. This project was like walking on burning embers. It was painful. But I did not allow myself to give up. The path to produce this story was not easy, but I believed in it. Being selected for SonOhr is an incredible recognition. Not only for the project, but for the whole journey behind it. I do not know what comes next — but I am grateful.
Perla: I wish you great success — maybe even a prize.
Zaher: Maybe. If we win, I will be very happy. If not, I will celebrate the others. Every project in the competition deserves recognition. What matters most is that the stories are heard.
Perla: So I wish you that a lot of people will heard your play. Thank you so much for this interview.
Zaher: Thank you, thank you too.
Al Azal by Zaher Al Jamous will be presented at the SonOhr Festival in Competition Block 1, Saturday at 2 pm, Kino Rex, Bern.
SONOHR ist das einzige Schweizer Festival für Radio, Podcasts und Hörkunst, das jährlich in Bern stattfindet. Das Programm umfasst kreative Hörspiele, Features und experimentelle Stücke, sowie kuratiert Schweizer Produktionen. Es bietet auch eine Plattform für den Austausch zwischen Autoren und Publikum.
