A co-worker of mine participated in a special daycamp with a bunch of Iraqi kids aged maybe 6 to 13. She was in charge of the art table. Her kids were enthusiastic, going through hundreds of pieces of paper during the day. She brought in a bunch of them, and I thought I'd share some with you. I photoshopped out the kids' names - even though the security situation here is better than last year, it's still best to be safe.
Does anything strike you as surprising in these drawings? Anything at all?What got my attention was just how normal these drawings are. They could have been done by any kid in the United States. Here are happy families with little houses in the countryside with flowers and trees and puffy clouds. I'm not quite sure what that thing is in the sky in the bottom picture - a bird? a bug? - but for sure it isn't threatening. All the figures have big happy smiles on their faces. These are happy drawings from happy kids.
They sure are resilient. These kids have spent all or most of their lives in post-invasion Iraq, when car bombs and urban warfare were a normal part of daily life. At least, they were normal until less than a year ago. With things quieter now (not what we'd consider "quiet", but you get the idea), these kids are looking like normal kids anywhere.
I call that a good sign.
I noticed that too, very very normal drawings, nothing gory showing all the carnage they must see around them, just happy, enthusiastic, creative kids!
ReplyDeleteMy impression and knowledge of Iraq's housing architecture is that flat roofs are the norm. I find it rather interesting that the kids draw houses with pitched roofs. Maybe I'm wrong about the style of buildings in their country.
ReplyDeleteI think the thing in the sky is an exotic bird. Almost looks like a peacock.