Drawing the Refugee Experience

Photo: International Medical Corps

An Afghan refugee girl draws her interpretation of the ‘refugee experience,’ the theme of International Medical Corps’ art contest on World Refugee Day. Her drawing won first place among the girls.

When he grows up, fifth-grader Mohammad Ayub wants to be an engineer. But unlike other budding engineers, Mohammad isn’t interested in building rocket ships or race cars. He wants to be an engineer so he can rebuild his country after years of war.

Mohammad is one of 2 million Afghans who have been forced to leave their homes to live in neighboring countries. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, more than half of Afghanistan’s refugees have fled to Pakistan, making it the top asylum country in the world. Most live in Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier Province, the remote, mountainous region hugging the Afghanistan border. This lawless province has long been a target of the Taliban, who have strong influence in the capital, Peshawar..

International Medical Corps (IMC) has supported Afghan refugees living in the Northwest Frontier since its inception nearly 25 years ago. To honor the Afghans living in Pakistan, IMC recognized World Refugee Day on June 20th with a drawing contest for school children at Mera Kachawri Refugee Camp. Color pencils in-hand, 24 children poured their creativity into the theme, ‘Refugee Experience,’ with drawings of how they see their lives today and what they want for a better tomorrow.

Their artistic expressions of refugee life in Pakistan were filled with images of homes, schools, and health clinics, but while they appreciated the refuge of the camps, the children still felt like they were living in a foreign country. However, Afghanistan, with wavering security and lack of economic opportunity, is a difficult home to return to.

Photo: IMC

One of winning pictures of International Medical Corps’ World Refugee Day drawing contest shows an Afghan girl’s experience as a refugee in Pakistan.

Even though they were aware of the grim realities of life in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, the students are hopeful for a brighter future and want to be a part of making it happen. Like Mohammad, sixth-grader Amree Gul, has dreams of helping Afghanistan recover. She wants to become a doctor so she can treat the people of her village in eastern Afghanistan, who have to travel to Jalalabad, for medical emergencies.

“If for some reason I cannot be a doctor,” Amree says,“I will start teaching the girls from my village so that even if they are not allowed to attend a formal school, they still have an opportunity to be educated.”

The two winning drawings share Mohammad’s and Amree’s vision of making a difference back home with a picture of people receiving medical treatment and another of a teacher and four cross-legged students having class outside, surrounded by trees and flowers. First place or not, the artwork made on World Refugee Day shows how childhood dreams – even those from refugee camps – are sparks that can lead to a better world.