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)
A: Wow, three Taiwanese restaurants just won the 2024 “Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants” awards. B: Awesome! Which three restaurants? A: Taipei’s Logy at No. 22 and MUME at No. 34, and Taichung’s JL Studio at No. 33. B: Actually, there are many more great establishments in Taipei. How about other Asian cities? A: Singapore claimed nine spots this year, making it Asia’s new “food capital.” A: 2024「亞洲50最佳餐廳」名單揭曉了,台灣有3家餐廳上榜。 B: 好厲害,哪3家? A: 台北的Logy和MUME分獲第22和34名,台中的JL Studio獲第33名! B: 其實台北還有很多好餐廳,那其他的亞洲城市呢? A: 新加坡今年入選9家,可說是亞洲美食之都。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Let’s explore another delicacy primarily known to Tainan locals: floating milkfish in thick soup. Despite its peculiar name, this dish is another Tainan specialty that showcases the popularity of milkfish, which is made into fish paste and served in thick soup. Unlike the version with tutuo fish, which also adds other ingredients to its thick soup, the floating milkfish version primarily features the “floating fish” itself in its thick soup, ensuring that the fish paste remains the star of the dish. 讓我們來探索另一道台南人熟悉的美食:浮水魚羹。這道菜名奇特的美食,再再展現了台南虱目魚料理的多樣。浮水魚羹是用虱目魚漿做成的羹品,雖然和𩵚魠魚羹一樣是羹湯,但不像𩵚魠魚羹會在湯中加入其他食材,而是讓虱目魚漿成為這道料理的主角。 peculiar (adj.) 獨特的;古怪的 The belly of a milkfish is considered the most
The practice of freezing embryos as part of in vitro fertilization (IVF) was thrown into chaos in Alabama this year, when the state supreme court ruled that such embryos should be considered children, exposing clinics to wrongful death claims in the event they are destroyed in the thawing process. In 2021, more than 80 percent of US IVF procedures involved the transfer of frozen embryos, according to a recent report by the US Department of Health and Human Services. HOW IS EMBRYO FREEZING USED IN IVF? IVF uses high doses of hormones to stimulate ovaries to produce as many eggs as possible. Once
A situation puzzle is a game in which one person describes a scenario and asks the players to explain it. The situation is deliberately lacking in details, but the players may acquire more information by asking questions — however, these can only be answered with “yes” or “no.” A player wins by describing the approximate events that led up to the situation. To do so, they must use a blend of logical and lateral thinking. A famous example of this is sometimes known as “Turtle Soup.” Here’s the riddle: “A man in a restaurant orders turtle soup, tastes it