Syrian women remember 'past before the past' with art

The first time Srwah Al Hamoud felt happiness in a long time was when her crocheted multi-coloured flowers and pineapples were unveiled at the Moncton Public Library.

The 50-year-old Syrian newcomer says it may be difficult for other people to see the connection between crocheting and the traumatic loss she experienced in Syria, but to her the connection is in time itself.

She called it the "past before the past," when she used to crochet for fun and relaxation, when crocheting wasn't her way of keeping the bad memories of war and loss at bay.

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"Now when I'm sad I crochet just to forget my sadness to remember the good days," she said in Arabic.

Her pieces are displayed at the library entrance alongside many others made by Syrian women, in the exhibit called "Roots, Stories and Memories."

It was the idea of art therapist Dominik Robichaud, who said she hopes art can help women heal from the war they've left behind.

"The main purpose is to create a safe space where difficult feelings or painful memories can be explored through art," Robichaud said.

The exhibit unveiled on March 27 and will be at the library until Apr. 20.

Art to help heal war time memories

7 years ago

Duration 1:10

The first time Srwah Al Hamoud felt happiness in a long time was when her crocheted multi-coloured flowers and pineapples were unveiled at the Moncton Public Library.

It took Al Hamoud a month to complete all the pieces that are hanging on the library walls, but she said in that month she made new friends and came out of her shell.

"She brought us together," she said of Robichaud. "My kids signed me up for this and I'm really glad."

The connection to war in Aliaa Obaid's art is easier to see. She took old books and repurposed them, using the pages as a way to sculpt trees and Barbie dresses.

She mixes childhood memories the doll with drawings of dead children and tanks. And to her, there is no way to separate those two memories the way they are separated in the exhibition.

"Because the memories, they collect each other, sweet and bitter memories all mix together," she said.

She said cutting the pages, rearranging them and drawing the children was a way to find some relief.

"We brought out all the bad things inside of us, all the bad stuff we poured it out into the books and the pages," Obaid said.

Al Hamoud, who proudly pronounced she was from the city of Dair el zour on the shores of the Euphrates, said the exhibit opening was a highlight for her that she shared with daughters in Turkey.

"Directly, directly I sent them photos," she said, laughing."They were very happy to see them."

But Al Hamoud was more sombre about the family still in Syria.

"The living was great in Syria, our past was sweet. We lived under one roof. With our friends and family and children. But now we're separated. I don't know about my family, or my sisters," she said.

Her hope is that people who see the art will "stand with us and help our people," she said. "Stand with the Syrians whose blood is shed. That's what I wish, my wish."