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The
despair of seeing their homes go up in flames, the terror of escape
into the unknown and hopes for a better future have been portrayed
in a series of vivid images painted by refugee children.
Often lacking the words to express
their traumatic experience, these children tell the powerful story
of their flight for their lives, through these paintings.
Some of the paintings displayed here were made by Somali, Sudanese
and Ethiopian refugees in Kenya and Burmese
refugees in Thailand.
The paintings can be hired from UNHCR free of charge. Send an email
to gbrloea@unhcr.org if you
are interested in hiring the images.
Kenyan
Paintings
These paintings, entitled "One Day I Had to Run!", give an insight
to the experiences of refugee children in the Horn of Africa. Fleeing
in their home countries of Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia, the children
who painted these pictures are now in refugee camps in Kenya. They
are trying to come to terms with the horrific events that shattered
their young lives. Looking through their eyes we can experience
some of the dramas they have survived, the bewilderment they feel
at being refugees; but also their optimism for a brighter future.
There are 20 paintings in the collection, measuring 62cm x 82cm
framed.
A
Selection of Images from Kenya
"All
night we wait in tents for the day to come. This place is very dangerous,
bandits attack us at night. I am showing the frightened faces of
the children in our camp."
Binti Aden Denle, aged 12, from Ethiopia
Children's
faces in tents
"I
lived in Kismayo until the fighting became very bad. Then I left
with my mother, brothers and sisters. We had to pay to go on this
boat with many, many other people. At night we were cold with the
wind and during the day we were burnt by the sun."
Said Abdi Said, aged 14, from Somalia
Sailing
from Kismayo
"Everybody
is happy about the food drop. I am watching. A blind lady is being
helped by a small boy. People are jumping to catch the food."
David Deng Aleu, aged 16, from Sudan
A
food drop
Aden
Ahmed Mohid, aged 14, from Somalia
Walking
to Kenya
Thai paintings
These 22 drawings and paintings provide a vivid insight into the
life of Myanmar refugees in Thailand. They are the result of a painting
competition in 1999 for refugee children aged between 8 and 18.
More than 300 children from refugee camps and centres around Thailand
entered the competition.
Most of the refugees have been in Thailand for many years (some
10 per cent of them arrived as early as 1984, with the majority
arriving after 1994), and do not see much prospect of returning
home. They currently live in 11 camps along the Thai/ Myanmar border
in Mae Hong Son, Tak, Kanchanaburi, Chumporn and Tachiburi.
A
Selection of Image from Thailand
"My
painting is about my Karen people who had to run away from our homes
to find safety in Thailand."
Saw Mae Da Eh, aged 15
"My
picture shows people being forced to work. They have to work for
the soldiers and don't have time to work for their own families."
Saw Tin Aung Win, aged 18
"A
symbolic depiction of the destruction of war and the hope for peace."
Saw Day Tu, aged 16
"People
were forced to be porters by the soldiers. My father had to be a
porter, he never had to chance to stay at home and work for himself.
The porters had to obey whatever the soldiers told them to do. They
suffered a lot and were sometimes killed. To leave our home was
a big decision. We didn't want to go because we love our place and
the nature in our country but we had to leave because of all the
suffering and cruelty."
Saw Tha Heh, aged 17
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