Last week I had the opportunity to visit Za'atari refugee camp just outside of Amman, Jordan. Of the 80,000 refugees living there, almost all are Syrians. Arriving in Za'atari, my only context on the experiences of refugees -- of people running from war -- had been informed by images captured by journalists. At the camp, I was brought to an art studio filled with images originated by Syrian artists. These artists paint and sculpt memories of their homeland, either to immortalize the memory of its beauty or as a form to express grief of searing images -- their houses destroyed, their neighbors and countrymen unburied on the streets. Many of the paintings explore the role of media in communicating the conflict to the outside world- how the conflict is being framed and packaged to people, what is being highlighted and what isn't.
Though I saw a lot of things at Za'atari, I felt it's important to share these artworks because they communicate so directly the experience of civil war and are made in the hands of those most affected. The names of the artists have not been disclosed by UNHCR, and I didn't have the opportunity to speak with them directly but I include some personal interpretations and reactions from when I first saw these pieces.
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