An interview with Zaynab al Bahro
Interview: Manouchehr Abrontan
Photo: Peter Müller
Group Art Exhibition – Kunstkreis Freigericht: Sunday 06 May – August 2017 in Rathaus Freigericht
I am 18 years old and I already live two years in Germany with my family.
I have started to paint and draw when I was in primary school.
It is difficult to talk about my experiences in Syria. I can’t describe it. That is the reason I draw and paint.
I have a new life in Germany. It is a good life. Sometimes, some Germans, not all of them, ask me; “why are we in Germany?” and I answer them; “Where should we go? It is a war in Syria”!
The people want to see beautiful things. Here is a kid. The kid has no idea about the war and doesn’t want to think about it too, and sees only the flowers.
The hands belong to the people who make wars. It doesn’t matter whose those hands. It could be ISIS.
Some people believe that I paint only sad things, but that is not true. Here are the colorful faces. I paint also happy pictures.
Here is a boy, five years old and sit on a seat in an ambulance. I saw that picture on the internet and then change the seat to a dog. His house collapsed and destroyed in Aleppo. His name is Oman.
HELMUT KAISER: The idea to invite Zaynab al Bahro to our group of artists (painters, photographers), came from Marlies Brandt. Zaynab is traumatized by the war and had awful experiences in Aleppo, Syria. Her siblings are killed in the war and one of her brothers is traumatized too.
It is important to help those people and free them from their nightmares. The refugees have a big language barrier to communicate and they can’t express their feelings and bitter experiences, but with the painting and drawing they are happy to communicate. We, as a group of artist in Freigericht give them the chance and opportunity to exhibit their life experiences.
