BEIRUT: Syrian child refugees in Lebanon are using hand-written letters and drawings to bridge the vast gap between their experiences and the lives of other children in New York.
The 1,000 Letter Project allows the young refugees to share their hopes and dreams. So far about 700 letters have been exchanged between the refugees and children in Hudson, New York, since the project started several months ago.
“I release my pain when I write these letters,” said Nijmeh Almawla, a 14-year-old Syrian refugee living in an informal settlement south of Lebanon’s capital, Beirut.
“Somebody is listening to me, and finally someone is hearing me,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) says nearly 1 million Syrians are registered as refugees in Lebanon, and account for about a quarter of its population. More than one in four Syrian refugees in Lebanon are children.
The project is a joint effort between Help Syria’s Kids, a US charity that assists young Syrian refugees in Lebanon, and Imagine Workshop and Concert Series (IWCS), a Lebanese art and outreach program.
The goal is to exchange 1,000 letters by the end of 2018.
Danette Gorman, the founder of Help Syria’s Kids, which is based in Hudson, said the idea was to create “unity between children” and help them understand how the other lives.
The letters and drawings were exhibited on Thursday at the Lebanese American University in Beirut, where some of the Syrian children performed a song as part of a larger IWCS concert.
“I want to learn to speak your language,” one of the letters that came from New York read.
Another said: “I hope you get the things that you need like a lot of food.”
“It shows that people care,” said IWCS director Seba Ali.
“It gives them self-esteem and tells them that they are a very, very important part in our society and that they matter.”
Among the letters were drawings, one of which — drawn by a Syrian child — was of a broken heart with a knife through it.
“Seeing is different from hearing. And when they read how we are living it will affect them ... they don’t know how bad our living conditions are,” said 12-year-old refugee Baraa’a Anter.
“I am every happy because I am talking to them,” she added with a beaming smile. “And I hope one day I can see them and they can see me.”
Writing project helps young Syrian refugees connect with New York kids
Writing project helps young Syrian refugees connect with New York kids
Aggression will be met with ‘immediate harsh response’: Iranian political adviser
TEHRAN: A top political adviser to Iran’s supreme leader said on Monday that any aggression against the country would be met with an “immediate harsh response,” after US President Donald Trump threatened to “eradicate” any attempt by Tehran to rebuild its nuclear program.
“Iran’s #Missile_Capability and defense are not containable or permission-based. Any aggression will face an immediate #Harsh_Response beyond its planners’ imagination,” Ali Shamkhani wrote on X.
Speaking at a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday in Florida, Trump threatened to “eradicate” any attempt by Tehran to rebuild its nuclear program or ballistic missile arsenal following US and Israeli strikes earlier this year.
During their fifth meeting in the United States since Trump’s return to power this year, Netanyahu also appeared to have steered the US leader toward focusing on Israel’s concerns about Iran.
Israeli officials and media have expressed concern in recent months that Iran is rebuilding its ballistic missile arsenal after it came under attack during the 12-day war with Israel in June.
Trump said Iran “may be behaving badly” and was looking at new nuclear sites to replace those targeted by US strikes during the same conflict, as well as restoring its missiles.
“I hope they’re not trying to build up again because if they are, we’re going have no choice but very quickly to eradicate that buildup,” Trump said, adding that the US response “may be more powerful than the last time.”
But Trump said he believed Iran was still interested in a deal with Washington on its nuclear and missile programs. Tehran denies that it is seeking nuclear weapons.
Iran on Monday denounced the reports as a “psychological operation” against Tehran, emphasizing it was fully prepared to defend itself, and warning renewed aggression would “result in harsher consequences” for Israel.
