New Arabic Sesame Street airs with regional twist
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Characters Basma (left) and Jad, from a new Middle East version of Sesame Street, taking a bus with children in Amman, Jordan. The show seeks to help children, especially young Syrian refugees, cope with emotions.
PHOTO: SESAME WORKSHOP
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DUBAI • A band of Muppets, both old favourites and new friends, will star in an Arabic retooling of Sesame Street with a regional twist.
In its Western iterations, the long-running franchise addresses issues including family breakdown. The new Middle East version instead seeks to help children, especially young Syrian refugees, cope with emotions.
New characters will join Cookie Monster (Kaa'ki), Grover (Gargur), Elmo and others in the new show called Ahlan Simsim! (Welcome Sesame).
"We always play and sing and try new things and have many adventures," new puppet Basma, a five-year-old purple girl with a twin twist hairstyle, said on a publicity tour in Dubai.
"Jad is my best friend," she added of her new co-star, a yellow boy with a tuft of canary-coloured hair.
Starting from yesterday, Basma, Jad and their gluttonous goat friend Ma'zooza, will take to the airwaves six days a week on Middle East satellite channel MBC 3.
The show is a partnership between the International Rescue Committee and Sesame Workshop, which is responsible for the programme worldwide.
The aim is to offer "nurturing care to children and caregivers affected by the Syrian conflict", according to a statement.
Since erupting in 2011, the war has displaced over 5.1 million Syrian children, with 2.5 million of them now living in regional host countries including Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan.
"Jad and I are not that similar. He is an artist and a painter. I love to sing and dance and he likes things in order," said Basma.
Sesame Street mainstay Grover, meanwhile, sets out to interview children from across the Arab world, tackling myriad issues including jealousy and how to care for loved ones.
"We are all different from each other," said Grover.
"Some of us like to sing and some of us like to dance and some like to exercise," added the gangly blue character. "But I discovered we are all alike because we love each other."
The new show is produced in Jordan and is the result of a two-year-long collaboration with numerous child development specialists.
"We have the emotional 'ABCs' and at the same time we present coping mechanisms to deal with these emotions," said executive producer Khaled Haddad.
In one episode, Basma and Jad learn from big brother figure Hadi how to handle fear.
"You put your hand on your tummy then you take a breath through your nose - inhale and exhale. It calms you down," Basma said.
The first Arabic version of Sesame Street, known as Iftah ya Simsim (Open Sesame), aired in the region from 1979 until 1990 and enjoyed immense popularity.
Filming for a second season of the new series will begin next month.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
