A video message from Noor

Art Opening

From across the ocean,

I send my gratitudeFrom Noor Hassan, the Iraqi nationless girl. Warm regards to all of those who are looking at my paintings and helping me cross my first steps to accomplish my first dream, the dream that will be accomplished in the art-curator land: America.I can't express to you my happiness knowing that my paintings were going to be shown in the cosmopolitan land. I am thrilled to be able to finally express, through my moderate paintings, the stories of a war-torn country that turned to be so fragile.

In my paintings, I show the sorrow of gestures and movements in the middle of stark wave and thoughts that can grow and succeed in spite of all the pain. I feel I am like you in the sense that we share humanity. We share a common space, air and sky. We share one world.

I am excited to overcome fear and silence, and to start painting again. I thank you from my heart, I will always thank you when Baghdad- the big heart- is protected better and I can go back to accomplish more of my dream. You gave me a sense of something that is so beautiful and unique.

All the respect,
Noor Hassan, 17 years-old
Damascus, Syria

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Yousef

{Iraq}

Iraq. Iraq. Iraq. All of me, my home and my things are in Iraq. Iraq. Iraq. My friends, my books are in Iraq. My school, my notebooks are in Iraq. Iraq. Iraq. All of them are in Iraq.

Iraq. Iraq. Iraq. I came from Iraq to America because all people kill people and some people wanted to kill us. I couldn’t stay in Iraq. In Iraq they put a bomb in my school and next to my home. So I came from Iraq to America.

My friends are dead I miss them and I cry and cry. All of them are in Iraq. I miss my family in Iraq.

America is fun. You can’t kiss your girlfriend in Iraq. You can only call her that’s all.

Capoeira

“Capoeira?!! What does that mean?" Huseen said, before I brought my students and other Iraqi kids to watch it.

On April 10th 2009, a group of dancers from Brazil, Portugal, Germany, and Syria performed the Capoeira dance to the Iraqi refugee and other kids in Damascus. My kids at Nativewithoutanation, not a surprise, had no idea what Capoeira is!

Hussein is one of the 40 other kids I was able to bring to the show. He was very curious. Before we arrived to our destination, he approached me and said “What does Capoeira mean?” It didn’t take that long to explain when the word “dance” was involved.

Upon our arrival, we were taken in a tour to be familiar with this special kind of performance. The kids were also taught how to dance the Capoeira. It was very amusing and joyful to the Iraqi refugees kids.

Two hours after attending the show, everybody took a break and pastry and juice were served, which add more joy to the kids, of course. Then, the Iraqi refugee kids danced the Capoeira with the trainers.

Now Hussein and the others know not only the meaning of the Capoeira dance, but also learned how to dance it.

Zaineb Hassan

My name is Zaineb Hassan and I am 11 years old. I am in fifth grade. I am from Baghdad. I like going to school very much.
Now that I live in Syria with my family, I keep remember how nice and big our house was! It was part of a big farm. We had a good life there. We came to Syria after the war when the situation in Baghdad became seriously bad. We decided to leave when my father received threats. But in addition to that, it had gotten to scary seeing all those corpses of dead bodies in streets on our way to school.

Then my father decided to bring us to Syria to live in peace. I was able to register at one school in Syria. It was difficult at the beginning because they used different dialect but after two months I was began using their dialect. Now I even have many friends. My ambition is to be surgeon. My favorite hobbies is to play gymnastic.

Anfal Hassan

My name is Anfal Hassan, 13, and I am in seventh grade. I live in Syria for 3 years now. Before that I lived peacefully in Baghdad with my family in a big house. The area was called Al-dora. We are a big family. I have 4 sisters and 2 brothers in addition to my Mom and Dad. All of my sisters are ambitious.

After 2003 we face many problems, my dad got threats at his work office. And there was an attempt to kidnap my older sister as she was on the way to school. Her freind was kidnapped and the next day her family found her dead body thrwon in the street.

After that, we got frightened. We stopped going to school. And then we faced another, strange type of problem. Some group tried to divorce my Dad and Mom because they are from differed sects. Of course my parents didn't get divorced. But then there was no way we could have stayed there after that happened.

When we came to Syria I lost one year from school but I was able to get advanced and continue my level.

Now our live is difficult, my dad can't work and we are just kids can't do anything. We live on some assistance from UNHCR but it's not enough. The house we live in now is not healthy and has just one bed room. Although life is difficult, we continue to be hopeful and hoping for better tomorrow.

My ambition is to be inventor and my hobby is painting.