This original oil painting, was created by an Iraqi artist living in the Kingdom of Jordan. The artist found that painting the Iraq he knew and the Iraq told to him through stories, was a therapeutic approach to overcoming the trauma of conflict and displacement.
According to the British Association of Art Therapists; “Art therapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses art media as its primary mode of expression and communication. Art therapists work with children, young people, adults and the elderly.”
Art Therapy has also benefited Iraqi Christian children between the ages of 10-14, who are displaced in camps across Iraq, having fled from Mosul and the Nineveh Plains during the ISIS invasion of 2014.
For these children, their lives have been characterised by a sense of loss, the absence of security, unpredictability and a lack of structure in life. They have witnessed a number of horrors, resulting in their family and social networks being shattered.
Hussein Al-alak is the editor of Iraq Solidarity News (Al-Thawra).
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