‘I don’t want my children to live in a tent’ – Heartbreaking exhibition to show voices from Syria 13 years into conflict | KO47C80 | 2024-05-12 00:08:01
'I don't want my children to live in a tent' – Heartbreaking exhibition to show voices from Syria 13 years into conflict | KO47C80 | 2024-05-12 00:08:01
A HEARTBREAKING new exhibition that aims to tell the stories of people living through 13 years of conflict in Syria opens this week.
'Voices from Syria: Thirteen Years in the Shadow of Conflict' will be held on Thursday May 9 and Friday May 10 from 11am to 7pm at The Depot at the Complex in Smithfield, Dublin.
Attendees to the exhibition are asked to bring their own smartphone and earphones or listening device.
The display will feature first-person accounts from five people living in Syria, telling how the never-ending war there has overshadowed their daily existence.
It also details the difference support from Irish aid agency Concern Worldwide, with funding from the European Union, has made to their quality of life – like education programmes and cash distributions.
Over 90 per cent of Syrians now live below the international poverty line. Prior to the start of the conflict in 2011 this figure was as low as 10 per cent.
David Regan, Concern Chief Executive, said: "This exhibition is not only an opportunity to remind ourselves of how a prolonged conflict can impact the lives of people, but to also remember that Syria, a country that has been impacted by unimaginable tragedy, is also a country that has a rich history, vibrant culture and a welcoming people."
Amira – whose name has been changed to protect their identity – is one of those featured in the exhibition.
She lives in a tent with her family in a camp in northern Syria for people forced from their homes due to the conflict.
She said: "Our life used to be very happy, but nowadays we are not happy because everything is a challenge.
'Nobody is thinking of us'
"We feel that we are people that no one cares about, nobody is thinking of us.
"I hope that my children can change their lives and not live the life that we do now, I don't want them to live in a tent.
Amira's family received cash distributions from Concern and two of her children attended Concern's non-formal education programme. The programme supports children who have been out of the
school system to catch up with basic literacy and numeracy skills so they can graduate to formal schools and join classes with students of a similar age.
Almost 6.5 million people have left Syria and are registered as refugees, while 5.5 million have been forced from their homes, often multiple times, but are still living within the country.
Millions displaced and in poverty
Meanwhile, over two million people now live in informal settlements.
Over 90 per cent of Syrians now live below the international poverty line – prior to the start of the conflict in 2011, this figure was as low as 10 per cent.
The audio-visual exhibition was forced to hide the identities of its subjects, due to security risks for many Syrian people.
This presented a challenge for the creators and organisers and inspired some interesting images.
'Personality and life'
Gavin Douglas, Concern's Multimedia Manager, who took the photos for the exhibition, said: "Because we were restricted in what we could show, we wanted to try and get as much of the person's personality and life into the images.
"That's why we photographed people in the place where they live, photographed items brought from their old life before they had to flee, and items or things that made where they live now, feel like home.
"There was a man who keeps birds as pets and talks about how much he loves the birds.
"There's a woman who has been living with her children in a tent in a camp for people internally displaced and after a couple of years realised that they had nowhere else to go, so she decided she needed to make it feel like a home.
'Unimaginable tragedy'
"She planted a garden, made these beautiful triangular windows, and an exterior mud wall to provide a sense of privacy."
David Regan, Concern Chief Executive, said: "This exhibition is not only an opportunity to remind ourselves of how a prolonged conflict can impact the lives of people, but to also remember that Syria, a country that has been impacted by unimaginable tragedy, is also a country that has a rich history, vibrant culture and a welcoming
people.
"Syria is however now in danger of becoming a forgotten crisis; more than 13 years into the conflict it remains one of the most complex humanitarian crises in the world.
"This year, a record-level number of people – more than 70 per cent of the population – need humanitarian assistance inside Syria."
EU support
Concern said that last year its programmes in Syria's north-eastern region reached almost 290,000 extremely vulnerable people with food vouchers, temporary employment and small business grants, as well as "other interventions".
It said it also addressed problems of access to safe, affordable, and reliable supplies of water by rehabilitating six water stations and eight water networks, which support 204,000 people.
The European Union has supported Concern's work in Syria since it launched there in 2013.
It is helping to fund Concern's multi-sectoral response in Syria this year, which is expected to reach 486,664 people.
Barbara Nolan, Head of the European Commission Representation in Ireland, said: "Concern's powerful exhibition serves as a timely reminder that Syria is experiencing one of the biggest humanitarian crises of our time, with 16.7 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.
"The EU remains strongly committed to supporting the Syrian people, both inside Syria and in its neighbouring countries, and is determined to keep Syria high on the international agenda.
"Together with its Member States, the EU has mobilised more than €4 billion in humanitarian aid, including close to €1.6 billion for Syria, €865 million for Lebanon and €417 million for Jordan."
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