I created this piece during the Trump Muslim Travel Ban era in 2017, when the news medias were flooded with images of innocent children crying, traumatized by the violent and confusing world around them. I could never forget the video of the five-year-old Syrian Boy, Omran Daqneesh, staring at the camera blankly, looking at his bloody hand with unsettling calmness. I could never even begin to imagine the psychological traumas that these wars had inflicted on these children.
In 2017, we have seen innumerable instances of intolerance, division, and bitterness, and everything felt like they are shrouded by a layer of darkness. I felt a sense of obligation to help the underprivileged minority, because in a sense, I am one of them. I could relate to the struggles of being a minority. The confusing and alienating experience of being an immigrant.
But I still have hope. As Ghandi once said, "You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty." It gives me hope to see the united resistance toward the intolerances and demonstrations of empathy, compassion, and solidarity.
I hope the little girl in the painting conveys a sense of strength, resiliency, and hope.
The woman I painted, whose expression could be described as shocked, anxious, and desperate even, is not hopeless. Rather, she remains, our society remains hopeful because of our ability to experience compassion, to reach out to the refugees, the immigrants, the people who are often treated like statistics and not given a voice or a face, and tell them: you are just like me. You will have a voice and rights and opportunities that you deserve. Because you are a human. And we are all humans.
Almost a year later, it's scary how relevant this painting felt, to me. This time it's not across the sea, but about three-hour-drive away from where I live, at the Mexican-American border. Kids were ripped away from their parents. And politicians justify this cruel act by saying they are just following orders, and the law. And that these kids are treated nicely, just like in "summer camps." I'm not a historian, but know enough history to know that that's what the Nazis said...
I don't know how to end this post except to say that I hope our society continues to be compassionate. Let's not let history repeats itself & help these refugees. Simply because it is our responsibility as human beings to help them.