Prometheus in Athens

NAME: ISMAIL HASSAN

AGE: 17

PLACE OF RESIDENCE: EXARCHEIA - DOWNTOW ATHENS

BIRTHPLACE: PALESTINE

ORIGIN: PALESTINIAN

ON THE NIGHT OF THE PERFORMANCE HIS TEACHER CHRISTINA WILL DRIVE HIM TO THE THEATRE.  THEY WILL LEAVE FROM EXARCHIA, DRIVE STRAIGHT DOWN HARILAOU TRIKOUPI STREET AND TAKE A LEFT TO REACH SYNTAGMA SQUARE.  THERE THEY WILL TAKE FILELLINON STREET, TURN RIGHT TO CHATZICHRISTOU STREET, PARK AND WALK TO HERODION THEATRE.

Ismail was born in Palestine.  He left his country 16 months ago.  “You need to go to Europe,” they told him.  He ended up in Greece by chance, but he wants to stay here. “I want to go to school and learn the language, because I don’t speak the language well.”  He feels that he is a man without a tongue.  He lives in a house where underage immigrants live together. 

His dream is to be with good people, because he doesn’t want anyone to steal his future.  He needs to hang on to his dreams.  He wants freedom and human rights equality.  Boxing is the one thing he loves doing and wants to be part of a boxing team.  His papers don’t allow him to do that.  However, he will wait and insist.  He also wants to learn computers, in order to help people who are in need.  Ismael feels he has been helped a lot “when one is alone, he finds brother and sisters on his way.”

He likes Turkish, Arabic, Afghan and Greek music, because his mind travels far away, mostly into his past.  ”Music makes me think what my past life was like back home.”

He has never read ancient tragedy, however, he has visited the archaeological museum and the ancient Greek culture interests him and inspires him to learn more.  He would identify with Io and her travels.