CHEPSTOW and Forest of Dean Singing Clubs sang a Syrian song, in Arabic, at the iNEED Hope Festival at an event designed to bring communities together.

The singers have been long-time supporters of iNEED, a refugee action group based in Caldicot.

Leader, Karl Daymond, said: “I saw an article in the Review last year about iNEED collecting food and donations for refugees and that’s originally how we got involved. We have since held events to raise money for them too. They are a terrific group who do great work.”

The Hope Festival, held at Hellens Manor in Much Marcle recently, brought around 300 refugees from south Wales together with about 200 supporters from the local area.

Karl said; “Through iNEED we met two Syrian brothers. I’ve been teaching one the piano and Julie Wight has been teaching the other to play the guitar. In exchange we asked if they could teach us a Syrian song.

“The one they chose is a traditional song about homeland. It’s not political at all and when we sang it with them at the Hope Festival, many of the Syrians who were there joined in. It was an incredibly moving experience and really shows how music hangs across cultures.”

Organiser of the event, Natasha Cadman, said: “The aim of the festival was to have fun and integrate with each other and with local people.

“We had Syrian and African musicians, Latin American carnival dancing,  a group of young men beatboxing, as well as singing from Chepstow Singing Club. Traditional dishes from the Yemen, Syria, Libya, Nigeria, Georgia, Eritrea and Iran showcased flavours from around the world. The day brought together a mix of cultures and personalities and we all celebrated together in peace.”

For more information about local singing clubs, visit www.singingclubber.co.uk To find out more about the work of iNEED, visit www.refugeesineed.org.uk, or like Face­book/ineed.monmouth.

newport or contact Nat­asha on 07810 8374462.