The Suffering of the Olive Branch in Afrin, by Hamrin Hanan

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In September 2019 we worked with Hamrin Hanan, who we met in the Skaramagas refugee camp in Greece. Hamrin participated in Footage’s Her{connect}Her program to create and publish this book. In her book, through her writing and illustrations, she shares her experiences of the devastation that the outbreak of war in Syria had wreaked on her family, her home and her community in Afrin, Northern Syria. Her narrative paints painful testimony to unendurable trauma of war and its impact on women and girls who are subjected to sexual violence as a weapon and means of subjugation and degradation. 

Here’s a reminder from her book about the Syrian war which started March 15th, 2011:

"It was the worst day of my life, a day that shattered all my dreams and ambitions, destroying homes, killing children and innocents. I was thirteen years old, I left school due to the raids that threatened my life with each bullet, I was behind in my studies and stayed home, counting the faraway sounds of bullets per minute, watching the planes hover over our heads, throwing explosive barrels. We’d sleep and wake up to the sounds of bombs and missiles. There’d hardly be enough power, food or water, we’d eat remnants of spoilt food while my mom wept in despair, too helpless to provide fresh food, afraid for our health; then came the day when we carried a small bag and left our home, with hope to one day return."

Hamrin Hanan wrote and illustrated The Suffering of the Olive Branch in Afrin to amplify the voices and resilience of displaced young women worldwide.

Hamrin said, "I wrote the book for the people... to know we are refugees not because we want, but because we have to be... I am coming here not for myself, for all children... I want the people to know what is happening in Afrin. It's not just a war. In Afrin, they killed children and grandmothers, grandfathers. And, I want people to know what happened in Afrin, because Afrin, she is very beautiful, but now... she needs help... When people read my book, I want them to feel... This is why I wrote the book."

To read Hamrin’s full story, download her book here. 

Hamrin dreamt of becoming an artist and painter. To view more of Hamrin’s work, follow her on Instagram @hamrin_hanan.
Location: New York, NY, USA

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