We blogged about a small Turkish village that’s being impacted by the stream of Syrian refugees crossing the border into Hatay province, an area that was once part of Syria until 1938. This photograph from the Guardian puts a face to the people living in these camps:
Syrian refugees’ drawings: Cemil Hicazi, 10
Photograph: Umit Bektas/ReutersSchoolchildren’s sketches of their dream homes at the Boynuyogun refugee camp in Hatay province near the Turkish-Syrian border. Inside the camp, tent canvases have been decorated with refugees’ drawings
~reblogged by Trent Gilliss, senior editor
Dreams and Nightmares from Aida Camp, in Black and White
by Trent Gilliss, senior editor + Susan Leem, associate producer
Mohammad Al Azzeh is a resident of Aida refugee camp whom we met while conducting interviews in the West Bank city of Bethlehem this past March. The 21-year-old Palestinian has been actively involved in Lajee Center, a cultural center in the heart of this neighborhood, and now manage its gallery and photography department.
His interest in photography and documenting the human condition within Aida was fostered as a teenager at the center when Rich Wiles, an English photographer, worked with ten 15-20 year olds to create a project titled “Dreams and Nightmares.” Each participant took two pictures: one of a dream, a hope, and the other of a nightmare, a fear.
In the audio above Mohammad describes his art and following are his two photos with captions:
“My dream is to be a famous footballer and be the captain of the Palestinian team.”
“I have nightmares about being taken away to an occupation prison. During the nights the soldiers come to the camp and arrest many children. This means that we cannot continue our studies.”
My Life Goal: Save $600 Every Month
by Trent Gilliss, senior editor
I found this post from deafmuslimpunk so endearing that I couldn’t help but reblog it. Anybody have some suggestions for this girl who longs for her own plot of land for her and her ponies?
“My goal is to save $600 every month. I’d like to save up enough money to buy my own land (at least 3-4 acres) and a small house. I’m doing research on affordable U.S states that have plenty of forestry and woods, yet accessible to big cities by trains. Tennessee, by far, seems like a good choice. Memphis and Nashville are cool cities, yet there’s plenty of rural country out in the state. I like that. Any other state suggestions? I’m doing this for me and my horses. Nothing else matters.”
