Amira
Amira talks about how she has worked to make her space in the camp feel like home:
"At the beginning we lived in tents. We thought that we were going to stay in the tents for a month or so and then we would head back to Syria. That’s why I did not really customize the tent to make it feel like home. When they moved us to the caravans, I felt that we were (going to be) staying here for a while, so I started decorating. Decorating the caravan and having my family around was and is the closest thing I have to home. At the time, my husband sent me some money, and I (used it to fix up) the caravan."
Syria has a long history of producing richly coloured and patterned textiles, with sites such as Hama and Palmyra - now associated with destructive battles and chronic conflict - serving as trading posts along the Silk Road. This blog post from the Mosaic Stories project contains a fascinating history of Syrian textile production and traces what remains of the industry in light of the ongoing conflict. You can also look at their gallery of Syrian textiles to the see the vibrant colours and intricate patterns that refugees such as Amira use to brighten up their homes in the camps.
