Art by Donay Habbak

وجدت و ولدت في دمشق
I was Born and Found in Syria

A fountain is considered a symbol of life, and almost all old Damascene houses included a fountain fed by the network of underground channels that have watered the city since antiquity.

The fountain brought life to these houses. If you were born in Damascus you will understand the connection between the fountain, the mother, jasmine flowers, and the beginning of life.

Who will bury us if we die?

The text is from my favourite poem by Mahmoud Darwish. Translated, it means, “Who will bury us if we die? Naked, there’s neither a horizon nor a grave that covers us.” This is how I felt about being a refugee, and how I still feel even after becoming a Russian citizen. I can’t really feel a solid ground underneath me, I and can’t stop thinking, “Who would bury me when I die?” It feels like no one would do that for me, and that this ground will always be foreign, and my corpse would never rest in peace.

4 يُحبونا ميتين
They love us dead.

It’s absolutely much much better when you’re dead
Because they love us dead
Because the dead will not share their oxygen
And the Dead are just forgotten
But love is love and they love us dead.