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Ali Nasser,
aged 7 years old,
lost his father due to a conflict that erupted
between both sides of his extended family.
The mother was forced to abandon her son on the streets.
Ali now resides,
in a juvenile center.
Adil Sabri, currently aged 17 years old,
was found in the streets at the age of one month.
A man who located him,
decided to raise him like one of his own, and supported him for 6 years.
Tragically, his own sons
rejected Adil,
because they considered him to be an illegitimate child
and felt no connection to him.
As a result, this man who saved Adil, was forced,
due to his own children's aggressive behavior, to abandon him.
Tragically, Adil spent the rest of his childhood on the streets,
until he eventually became a thief
and ended up arrested by the police.
In the end, he was sentenced to jail for 1 year and six months
and he is returned to the juvenile centre, staying there for 8 years.
Omar and Hassan, two brothers.
Omar aged 11 years old
and Hasan aged 13 years old,
lost their mother after she was murdered.
Their father fled and never returned.
The uncle took responsibility for both children,
and contemplated raising them.
However unfortunately his wife promptly...
refused and requested for them to be abandoned
forcing him to choose, either they go or she goes.
In the end, Hassan and Omar's fate sentenced them to a life on the streets.
They would often cry; for there was no-one to help them.
A man from the province of Nasiriyah located them,
heard their story and was deeply touched.
As a result, he also contemplated raising them.
However, similar to before, his wife rejected them
and told her husband "We cannot take on such a responsibility,
take them to the police center".
The man took them to police center,
and in the end - they ended up in the same position as Ali and Adil.
This is Mohammed,
what you see here is most definitely not a birth deformity
or dermal disease.
Mohammed is now aged 7 years old.
His mother,
whenever she was upset,
she would extinguish her cigarette on his face, his hands or his tongue.
Could this be a mother?
Why? How? The reason behind all this was because the child hindered her freedom
and hence her work. She worked as belly dancer in one of Baghdad's nightclubs.
Mohammed also ended up in the same fate as his brother.
There is a similarity between me and them,
meaning, I am like them.
The similarity between me and them is injustice.
What these children endured, I endured too.
Despite all this,
I insisted on living and rising. I told myself, that it's not the end of the world
and that life is still worth living.
Truly,
I returned back to life...
and I rose.
From 1977 till 2011,
I kept working
and challenging life - despite frustrations.
I worked in the press, in the theatre, I made documentaries,
participated in international films
yet always felt there was something missing. Nothing was enough.
My mind was elsewhere. With them.
I am not exaggerating...
or complementing myself.
I never felt I existed till I met them.
For myself and for them, I created a program called: The Light At the End of the Tunnel.
The Light At the End of the Tunnel was a program
that consisted of five technical training specialties,
Plastic art,
calligraphy and garnishing,
short story writing,
digital/video photography and computers.
When starting the project, I had to go through a lot of paper work
and get approval. This was quite difficult.
But my determination to accomplish this project helped me through all these long procedures,
till I finally reached Al-Karada Male Rehab Center, where I met the manager.
And he said sarcastically " Rawa are you dreaming,
are you sure that those juveniles could produce painters, writers,
photographers or even someone who could possibly work on a computer?".
After he had done with his speech,
I told him "yes they could produce that".
When I started thinking and planning for the project,
thinking what I could do for these children,
many of my close acquaintances said to me
"Are you crazy? What are you thinking? You go to the juvenile center?!!
What painting! What photography! What camera!
What computer! Are you talking about?
Let's hope they eat and get dressed first".
But I did feed them and I did dress them.
I filled with minds with culture;
dressed them with all sorts of art,
and I dressed them with love.
I taught them the meaning of giving
and the meaning of humanity.
The humanity they already have inside their souls.
Please don't think, they come to us from another planet.
No,
they are a part of us.
A part of you. A part of the community.
I didn't do a huge thing,
all I did was...
blow on them,
the dust was removed from them
and showed the real genuine metal that was hidden due to the accumulated dust,
and there was their creativity
and their buried talents.
please watch this simple and humble video.
Note the photos of those kids, here they are,
all we did was connecting them back to civilization.
Because they are a part of civilization,
whether we accepted it or not.
Note how this kid,
and how is he in harmony with his tableau
and how happy he is with the colors and his painting.
This is Abdul-Rahman with his painting.
By the way,
I would like to mention that half the kids
are illiterate and can't read or write!
Would you expect such creativity from an illiterate person,
who does not read or write,
homeless, coming from intellectually
scientifically, culturally, morally, and healthily poor background?
Would you?
Here,
a kid on the computers...
and another poor kid painting,
look at the implications,
the touch of the brush, and his harmony with the painting.
Note these works.
This work is burning on wood art.
This is Adel Sabri's work,
this one too.
This is what is called "Zincography" which is actually digging with the needle.
Note also these works,
This is a product from the most creative among the 62 children - Ahmed Maitham.
Ahmed Maitham was found to be a poet,
a short-story writer,
a painter and a calligrapher.
They even learned the collage art.
This is a collage art work.
This is Haidar Karrar, this is his handmade work.
Note this video.
Who could imagine that someone illiterate could perform such calligraphy?
Just like a calligrapher,
he is one of the juveniles, and this is true.
This is another kid.
People like these children, do they deserve to live?
Do they deserve our attention and our care?
I would like to ask you this,
would our community...
be able in 10 or 15 years from now
to bear...
100,
200 or more
of outlaws...
like that?
These are miserable photos.
Indeed,
if there is no attention or care provided for this segment of society
then unfortunately this would their destiny.
Thank you.