in 2013 and January me and my friends
were sitting on the University bench and
at that time three rockets landed in
University building in that explosion
eighty-six student died and 162 people
were had fatal injuries in that moment
when the explosion I saw three of my
colleague is losing their head in front
of me and I had to you know go into my
dorms the that moment and I was in my
room for a week trying to process what
happened I packed my stuff
I quit University and I went to wreck a
city where I thought that I’m gonna wait
until thing is gonna be calm and I can
go back you know it’s cool but no an
August Isis came and took over the city
after a huge fights between the rebel ax
Stanley another regime in the city we
and my family like we tried to stay
there we thought it’s gonna be temporary
we saw that it’s just gonna you know
pass but no I say start practicing their
extreme Islamic ways their executions
like people who smoke people who doesn’t
you know fast or like people who just
like know do things that’s that she
didn’t do and their ways so me my family
we backed our things and we did the you
know we took like I took my important
art supplies my really precious drawing
then like my step took her oops my
birthday station my mom had like small
Samsonite bags had like everything that
certificate and all the important papers
and when we free the you know we took
the bus and we flavor City I was trying
to process about what’s been happening
for the last two years in my life
like seeing everything you know blood
and you know bodies and flesh and
everything and how I want to talk about
these things then especially like being
in Syria and Middle Eastern countries
going for psychiatrist and talks about
these issues is not something like okay
because it’s like a social suicide
because people point at you as like a
crazy person so and for me in my case
like I was done you know the bigger
brother and my dad was always
lynx-o I have to stay strong for the
family I had to give everything inside
of me and act tough for them we reached
the city Casa la mía like we wanted you
know to settle down until we gonna think
about really gonna do next I start
having this idea in my head that how
should I you know talk about these
things like how can i express what I’ve
been going through and the things that
I’ve seen so for me I’m an artist so I I
was you know being in the comics doing a
lot of comics like man so I created a
comic it was called blood wide and this
comic it talks about a kid called Merida
of course it’s in a manga style which is
Japanese so the names on in Japanese but
there are things in Arabic so the Merida
like Bauer’s activated when he like
touch his Bloods or sees blood or like
see some brushes to him you know being
killed and I didn’t like I put the story
in a way that it doesn’t say when I feel
it just Viking talks about it in a way
that wasn’t me and then I realized that
I’m speaking my issues through my work
and that was the start for me after that
we moved to the coastal area in a city
called Latakia it’s controllable Assad
regime it was this you know the safest
solution for us because you know it was
chaos everywhere and especially in
Latakia even though it’s considered as a
one of the safest places but explosions
and fights happening all the time at
that time was it 2014 I start exploring
my sexuality as a gay person and I met
there my first boyfriend and everything
starts coming back to me you know like
the ups and downs and trying to know who
I am Who am I as a person and as a gay
person and the war so I reached the
point that I’ve been care about anything
is gonna happen to me there if I spoke
what I wrote in my mind and if I
expressed myself so I started creating
an art page and that art page I wanted
to post my ideas and thoughts in drawing
is that spoke what I felt in a way that
was in a new face way I used I used
start using like
things from the nature like birds and
butterflies and moths and trees and use
the symbolism of these elements in a way
that speaks my ideas and being in Syria
and having a family and being still in
the closet I had you know not talk about
politics or sexuality in an aggressive
way so I start with equality and for me
I was like like a huge like feminist
back then and so I created this drawing
it’s it’s this letter it’s and noon in
Arabic is for necessary which means
feminist and that was the first thing I
posted was talking about equality and
the the hidden messages of it like not
just like equality between the two sexes
even I mean you know everyone like all
humans so I start having a good reaction
from people of course because most of
them didn’t understand that you know the
hidden idea net and then I started about
more issues and things that are more
extreme and taboo and and I start
exploring my thoughts through my work at
that point I even care about my safety
or about you know my family’s reputation
I start dressing like really extreme
like chains and I had a sipping beer
saying in Syria which no one had liked
but here in Seattle has been do you
think so
yeah so I felt by kind of you know drink
care if I was killed with an explosion
or like someone is gonna kill me because
way I think or my sexuality but my
family starts realizing that I’m being
too much and so behind my back they sold
everything they have they you know they
used all my sister’s savings for the
university my brother and everything and
they were like and this number came to
me told me like this is your tickets
we’re leaving to your dad and you’re
gonna be smuggled to Europe and you can
stay here because one of us this family
have to leave this country at least one
should be safe so I took the flight I
went to Turkey I seen with my dad for
weeks and then we start arranging with a
smuggler and in in January the journey
started I went to the checkpoint in as
near and there I saw three rubber boats
and they were like around 200 people and
small rubber boats each boat only fits
for 20 people and we were like 50 you
know like 2200 you know people and and
everyone like had a huge bags and stuff
it’s like they were going a picnic or
moving and I had like a small backpack
and everyone’s not tie me like why don’t
you have like stuff with you and I was
like yes like my bag had my fiber sighs
and they’ll be my Fifty Shades of Grey
book my B York City and my Lady Gaga CD
and my boat and really paint things that
I made like these kind of couple of
paintings and and and people like okay
like don’t you need like extra underwear
like something because you’re gonna
cross the sea we gonna walk all this way
like no I have all my life which is like
my backpack which is my drawings than my
brushes music we started the journey we
were in a boat I was in a the boat would
like it fits for 22 but you were like 55
people like Steven top of each other
like literally we we were three and the
first one starts sailing which would I
was in it the second one starts sinking
and and the guy who was like sailing
starts yelling don’t look back because
if we’re gonna look at that we kind of
freaked out that the boat is gonna flip
and we’re gonna all die we reached
Greece and we start traveling from
Greece to Europe
we took trains we start walking it’s
well January for the critic cold and
rainy it was like really dramatic and we
read Germany and and then Jeremy like
the borders were closed and they asked
us like you have the sickness I’m in
Germany can’t go and further but I was
like I want to go to Sweden and they
were like no the ports are closed you
can’t go anywhere so when they knew I
want to go to Sweden they give me
rejection day but they send me back to
Italy and of like you know secrecy later
they can say in Germany from Italy I
took like I try to go all the way around
Europe to Sweden I was caught in France
I was in fact Italy and they’re always
like desperate and I was you know just
like sickness on there but with the help
with a Dutch friend of me he helped me
financially to be able to be smuggled to
Sweden through an airplane and
in February I reached Sweden at that
time I remember when I was in Allen
Orland airport in stockholm and I was
like out of the airport I just like
started seeing their you know the colors
the the smell of the fresh air after two
months of traveling the fabulous people
and you know the styles and and
everyone’s like smiling at me of course
everyone saw me like I was mess but
everyone’s like super nice and
everything to me
and I felt this huge huge like powers
and inspiration it was like just the
first time I step out of the airport and
staying there for like a month in a camp
I start exploring the Swedish lifestyle
the freedom the equality the freedom to
top what you want to speak what you want
to even like you know this is what you
want and whoever you want and no one
like even tell you what you do and I had
this great great power like inspiring
power to do more and express the ideas
and thoughts I always wanted to do so I
started creating you know like I start
taking my work to the next level and and
I started working with the watercolors
because for me watercolors it was like
kind of therapy like you know the way
that you control the transparency of the
watercolors and the flow of the water it
was like it was like yoga but within
hands so I was it was like it was the
only thing that killed kept me to be
like you know mentally be stable and
then I start talking about issues that
are taboo and my community and all like
most communities which like things they
don’t talk about like when I was a kid I
was sexually molested by my sport
teacher I was in a fourth grade and
couldn’t tell my mom or anyone about it
and I had to see his face every day so I
took this you know freedom and to talk
and speak about this idea and it was a
called Hispanic called vidi philia and
when I posted it everyone knew what I
been through even my family and they
were like speechless and then I start
becoming more aggressive aggressive in a
way that I want you know to you know
talk more about equality and things I
would never be able to talk about like
you know homosexual
right Muslim rights and talk about four
friends who are like still in the closet
like dear friends for me like they
cannot talk because of their families so
I start talking about taking this thing
and talk about issues like things that
people don’t talk about because they’re
afraid of what people think of them or
judge them like mental illnesses and and
things that are in my community as a
taboo like this painting it talked about
genital female genital mutilation and
how its Tilden practicing in Egypt so I
start taking this platform to to make
people more aware things are going and
to make them like talk about these
issues and this painting is talked about
she’s Audrina and this mental issues
like III had a purpose that I want
people to talk about their issues their
their problems because for because these
things I always never been able to talk
about because where I was living and the
freedom the limited freedom I had and
because I believe that once you talk
about these things you will be free you
will be able to do more you will be able
to achieve yourself as a person as a
human being and be creative and be great
as an artist or wherever you do and for
me in Sweden give me this opportunity
and I’m always I guess I’m really
blessed because I have a great friends
and I live like with this amazing
Swedish family who is supporting me and
it’s all because of kina who has been
like the reason why she’s been doing all
these great things she works the
organization called refugees welcome and
help refugees to be with Swedish family
to be more integrated and that gave me
the chance to to inspire people and
inspire myself as well to be a better
human being and a better artist thank
you so much
were sitting on the University bench and
at that time three rockets landed in
University building in that explosion
eighty-six student died and 162 people
were had fatal injuries in that moment
when the explosion I saw three of my
colleague is losing their head in front
of me and I had to you know go into my
dorms the that moment and I was in my
room for a week trying to process what
happened I packed my stuff
I quit University and I went to wreck a
city where I thought that I’m gonna wait
until thing is gonna be calm and I can
go back you know it’s cool but no an
August Isis came and took over the city
after a huge fights between the rebel ax
Stanley another regime in the city we
and my family like we tried to stay
there we thought it’s gonna be temporary
we saw that it’s just gonna you know
pass but no I say start practicing their
extreme Islamic ways their executions
like people who smoke people who doesn’t
you know fast or like people who just
like know do things that’s that she
didn’t do and their ways so me my family
we backed our things and we did the you
know we took like I took my important
art supplies my really precious drawing
then like my step took her oops my
birthday station my mom had like small
Samsonite bags had like everything that
certificate and all the important papers
and when we free the you know we took
the bus and we flavor City I was trying
to process about what’s been happening
for the last two years in my life
like seeing everything you know blood
and you know bodies and flesh and
everything and how I want to talk about
these things then especially like being
in Syria and Middle Eastern countries
going for psychiatrist and talks about
these issues is not something like okay
because it’s like a social suicide
because people point at you as like a
crazy person so and for me in my case
like I was done you know the bigger
brother and my dad was always
lynx-o I have to stay strong for the
family I had to give everything inside
of me and act tough for them we reached
the city Casa la mía like we wanted you
know to settle down until we gonna think
about really gonna do next I start
having this idea in my head that how
should I you know talk about these
things like how can i express what I’ve
been going through and the things that
I’ve seen so for me I’m an artist so I I
was you know being in the comics doing a
lot of comics like man so I created a
comic it was called blood wide and this
comic it talks about a kid called Merida
of course it’s in a manga style which is
Japanese so the names on in Japanese but
there are things in Arabic so the Merida
like Bauer’s activated when he like
touch his Bloods or sees blood or like
see some brushes to him you know being
killed and I didn’t like I put the story
in a way that it doesn’t say when I feel
it just Viking talks about it in a way
that wasn’t me and then I realized that
I’m speaking my issues through my work
and that was the start for me after that
we moved to the coastal area in a city
called Latakia it’s controllable Assad
regime it was this you know the safest
solution for us because you know it was
chaos everywhere and especially in
Latakia even though it’s considered as a
one of the safest places but explosions
and fights happening all the time at
that time was it 2014 I start exploring
my sexuality as a gay person and I met
there my first boyfriend and everything
starts coming back to me you know like
the ups and downs and trying to know who
I am Who am I as a person and as a gay
person and the war so I reached the
point that I’ve been care about anything
is gonna happen to me there if I spoke
what I wrote in my mind and if I
expressed myself so I started creating
an art page and that art page I wanted
to post my ideas and thoughts in drawing
is that spoke what I felt in a way that
was in a new face way I used I used
start using like
things from the nature like birds and
butterflies and moths and trees and use
the symbolism of these elements in a way
that speaks my ideas and being in Syria
and having a family and being still in
the closet I had you know not talk about
politics or sexuality in an aggressive
way so I start with equality and for me
I was like like a huge like feminist
back then and so I created this drawing
it’s it’s this letter it’s and noon in
Arabic is for necessary which means
feminist and that was the first thing I
posted was talking about equality and
the the hidden messages of it like not
just like equality between the two sexes
even I mean you know everyone like all
humans so I start having a good reaction
from people of course because most of
them didn’t understand that you know the
hidden idea net and then I started about
more issues and things that are more
extreme and taboo and and I start
exploring my thoughts through my work at
that point I even care about my safety
or about you know my family’s reputation
I start dressing like really extreme
like chains and I had a sipping beer
saying in Syria which no one had liked
but here in Seattle has been do you
think so
yeah so I felt by kind of you know drink
care if I was killed with an explosion
or like someone is gonna kill me because
way I think or my sexuality but my
family starts realizing that I’m being
too much and so behind my back they sold
everything they have they you know they
used all my sister’s savings for the
university my brother and everything and
they were like and this number came to
me told me like this is your tickets
we’re leaving to your dad and you’re
gonna be smuggled to Europe and you can
stay here because one of us this family
have to leave this country at least one
should be safe so I took the flight I
went to Turkey I seen with my dad for
weeks and then we start arranging with a
smuggler and in in January the journey
started I went to the checkpoint in as
near and there I saw three rubber boats
and they were like around 200 people and
small rubber boats each boat only fits
for 20 people and we were like 50 you
know like 2200 you know people and and
everyone like had a huge bags and stuff
it’s like they were going a picnic or
moving and I had like a small backpack
and everyone’s not tie me like why don’t
you have like stuff with you and I was
like yes like my bag had my fiber sighs
and they’ll be my Fifty Shades of Grey
book my B York City and my Lady Gaga CD
and my boat and really paint things that
I made like these kind of couple of
paintings and and and people like okay
like don’t you need like extra underwear
like something because you’re gonna
cross the sea we gonna walk all this way
like no I have all my life which is like
my backpack which is my drawings than my
brushes music we started the journey we
were in a boat I was in a the boat would
like it fits for 22 but you were like 55
people like Steven top of each other
like literally we we were three and the
first one starts sailing which would I
was in it the second one starts sinking
and and the guy who was like sailing
starts yelling don’t look back because
if we’re gonna look at that we kind of
freaked out that the boat is gonna flip
and we’re gonna all die we reached
Greece and we start traveling from
Greece to Europe
we took trains we start walking it’s
well January for the critic cold and
rainy it was like really dramatic and we
read Germany and and then Jeremy like
the borders were closed and they asked
us like you have the sickness I’m in
Germany can’t go and further but I was
like I want to go to Sweden and they
were like no the ports are closed you
can’t go anywhere so when they knew I
want to go to Sweden they give me
rejection day but they send me back to
Italy and of like you know secrecy later
they can say in Germany from Italy I
took like I try to go all the way around
Europe to Sweden I was caught in France
I was in fact Italy and they’re always
like desperate and I was you know just
like sickness on there but with the help
with a Dutch friend of me he helped me
financially to be able to be smuggled to
Sweden through an airplane and
in February I reached Sweden at that
time I remember when I was in Allen
Orland airport in stockholm and I was
like out of the airport I just like
started seeing their you know the colors
the the smell of the fresh air after two
months of traveling the fabulous people
and you know the styles and and
everyone’s like smiling at me of course
everyone saw me like I was mess but
everyone’s like super nice and
everything to me
and I felt this huge huge like powers
and inspiration it was like just the
first time I step out of the airport and
staying there for like a month in a camp
I start exploring the Swedish lifestyle
the freedom the equality the freedom to
top what you want to speak what you want
to even like you know this is what you
want and whoever you want and no one
like even tell you what you do and I had
this great great power like inspiring
power to do more and express the ideas
and thoughts I always wanted to do so I
started creating you know like I start
taking my work to the next level and and
I started working with the watercolors
because for me watercolors it was like
kind of therapy like you know the way
that you control the transparency of the
watercolors and the flow of the water it
was like it was like yoga but within
hands so I was it was like it was the
only thing that killed kept me to be
like you know mentally be stable and
then I start talking about issues that
are taboo and my community and all like
most communities which like things they
don’t talk about like when I was a kid I
was sexually molested by my sport
teacher I was in a fourth grade and
couldn’t tell my mom or anyone about it
and I had to see his face every day so I
took this you know freedom and to talk
and speak about this idea and it was a
called Hispanic called vidi philia and
when I posted it everyone knew what I
been through even my family and they
were like speechless and then I start
becoming more aggressive aggressive in a
way that I want you know to you know
talk more about equality and things I
would never be able to talk about like
you know homosexual
right Muslim rights and talk about four
friends who are like still in the closet
like dear friends for me like they
cannot talk because of their families so
I start talking about taking this thing
and talk about issues like things that
people don’t talk about because they’re
afraid of what people think of them or
judge them like mental illnesses and and
things that are in my community as a
taboo like this painting it talked about
genital female genital mutilation and
how its Tilden practicing in Egypt so I
start taking this platform to to make
people more aware things are going and
to make them like talk about these
issues and this painting is talked about
she’s Audrina and this mental issues
like III had a purpose that I want
people to talk about their issues their
their problems because for because these
things I always never been able to talk
about because where I was living and the
freedom the limited freedom I had and
because I believe that once you talk
about these things you will be free you
will be able to do more you will be able
to achieve yourself as a person as a
human being and be creative and be great
as an artist or wherever you do and for
me in Sweden give me this opportunity
and I’m always I guess I’m really
blessed because I have a great friends
and I live like with this amazing
Swedish family who is supporting me and
it’s all because of kina who has been
like the reason why she’s been doing all
these great things she works the
organization called refugees welcome and
help refugees to be with Swedish family
to be more integrated and that gave me
the chance to to inspire people and
inspire myself as well to be a better
human being and a better artist thank
you so much
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