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Channel / Source:
TEDx Talks
Published: 2017-08-29
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wY81_RzLp0
and the thousand thirteen and January when my friends were sitting on the university best son of god tying three rockets landed in a listed building and that explosion eighty six student died and one hundred and sixty two people wear hats fatal injuries and that moment of explosion I saw three of my colleagues those and to have the fun of me and I have to you know
go might dorms that that moment and I was in my room for a week trying to process what happened I packed my stuff I quit university and I went back records hitting well I thought that I'm gonna wait until things gonna be calm and I can go back you know school but no in August ISIS came and took over the city after huge fights between the
rebel lists I'm Nina the reaching in the city are we in my family like we try to stay there we thought it's going to be a marine we saw that just coming up past but no ice to start practicing there strand Islamic ways that executions like people who smoke people who doesn't know past or like people who dislike not do things that she didn't do and
their ways so me my family back those things and we leave you now we talk alike cara I took my important art supplies my belief precious throwing them like most of her books my boat because they station my mom had like small something like that had like everything that's significant or important papers and when you say that you know with the bustling paper city and I
was trying crosses about what's been happening for the last two years of my life but seeing everything you know blood and you nobody's and slash and everything and how I want to talk about these things then especially like Yang and serum a list of countries going plus psychiatrist talks about this issue is is not something like okay because it's like a social suicide good people point
at you as like a crazy person so I am for me in my case like I was the you know the bigger brother and my dad was always traveling so I had a strong for the family I have you everything inside of me and I so for them we reached the sickle cell anemia like we wanted you know to settle down until we can out think
of what they gonna do next %HESITATION I start having this idea in my head that's how are you know talk about these things like how can I express what I've been going through and the things that I've seen so for me I am an artist so I I was you know being in that comics are going to love comics that best so I created the comic
was called like bite and this comic it talks about it hit gold money dot course it's in the manga style which is that many so that means but that I can aerobic so then what do the like Bowers activity would you like to live overseas log Alexi some precious time you know being killed and IBM's or like I put the story in a way that it
doesn't say what I feel it just like talks about it in a way that wasn't me and then I realize that I'm speaking my issues through my work and that was the stock will me after that we moved to the coastal area in the city hold a Takia is controlled by the Assad regime it was this you know the safest lotion for us because you know
it was chaos everywhere especially let's talk even though it's no surprise that one of the safest places explosions uprights happening all the time at that time was of the fourteen I start exploring my sexuality her as a gay person and I miss them my first boyfriend and everything started coming back to me you know like that ups and downs and trying to know who I am
who I am I as a person and as a gay person and the war so I I I I wish the point that I didn't care about anything is gonna happen to me there if I spoke what was on my mind and if I express myself so I thought of creating art page and then that are Bates I wanted to post my ideas and thoughts growing
is that spoke what I felt in a way that wasn't in your face way I use I use are using like a things from the nature like birds and butterflies and moths and trees and use the symbolism of peace elements in a way that speaks my ideas and being as Syria and having a family and being still in the closet I have to you know not
talk about politics or sexuality in an aggressive way so I start with equality and for me I was like lucky you would like the minister had been a slight created this drawing a it Sir this letter it's and no one Arabic this for us so we don't use feminists and that was the first thing I posted was talk about equality and that they had the messages
of it like not just like equality between the sexes even in you know everyone like all humans so I I start having a good reaction from people of course because most of them did understand that you know the hidden IBM that's and then I thought about more issues and things that are more extreme and have one and I start exploring %HESITATION might might sorts it might
work and that point I even care about my safety or about you know my family's reputation I start dressing like really extreme like chains that I have a sick and you're saying in Syria which no one had like but hit us in apple has and you think so yeah US so I feel my kind of you know thing care if I was killed one explosion and
or like someone is gonna kill me because way I think of my sexuality what's my family started realizing that I'm on me so much and so behind my back they sold everything they have they you know they do with all my sister savings corner of her city my brother and everything and they were like in the summer camp and it'll be like this is a ticket
living through that and you're going to be smuggled to Europe and you have to stay here because one of us this family have lead this country at least once you say so I %HESITATION lights I went to Sergei I think with my passport weeks and then we are arranging a smuggler and %HESITATION in the end January the journey started I went to the checkpoint and as
near I'm there I SO three rubber boats and the like on a hundred people and small rubber boats each both on the fifth sports money people and we were like sixteen you know like what wonder you know people and that %HESITATION and everyone like had huge bags and stuff it's like they were going to picnic or moving gonna have like small backpack and thank you I
why don't you have like stuff with you and I was like yes like made by you have Mike Barbra Streisand and be like this it's a great book my Bjork CD and my lady Gaga CD I might both and really I think that I may have like these kind of people I think that as I'm evil like okay like don't you like extra underwear like something
because he got across the sea we gonna walk all this very well but you know I have all my life which is like my backpack which is my drawings of my purchased music we started the journey that we went to both I was Anna and the port would like at six foot twenty two about to like sixty five people like Stephen comfortable like literally at least
we were three and the first one thought ceiling which would I was and that's the second one past thinking and and that guy who is like sailing start yelling don't look back because if you don't look back gonna pick out the poor who gonna live and you can all die we reached Greece I was taught shuffling from Greece to Europe we took a train stuck walking
explosion what it was like really cold and rainy what was it a matter and that we reach Germany %HESITATION and advance Jeremy about the boards look both of the ask us like you have signal some Germany and go and part of it I was like I want to go to Sweden and they were like you know they put the clothes you can go anywhere so with
anyone books heat and they give that actually put this in the past so it's only intellect you and you know it doesn't occur to Athens army from Italy I cook like a child to go all the way around Europe just yet and I was caught in France I was Italy and that was like a desperate and was in not just like you must on there but
with the help with a Dutch friend of me he help me financially to be able to he smuggled this Nita so airplane and in February I reached the bottom at that time I remember when I was in our land or land our airport in Stockholm and I was like out at the airport I just like start seeing better you know if colors that the smell of
the fresh air after two months of traveling the fabulous people and you know the styles and I never was like smiling at me because it went so me like I was mess whatever like super nice and everything and I felt this huge huge like what was the inspiration applied like just the first time I step up to the elbow and then staying there for like a
month in income I start exploring the sweetest lifestyle the freedom and equality the freedom to talk what you want to speak what you want so even like you know just what you want and whoever you want and no one like you can tell you what you do I have this great great power like smiling about what to do more and express the ideas I thought that
always wanted to so I start creating you know like I thought picking might work to the next level and and I start looking at what the colors because for me water colors it was like kind of therapy like you go the way that you control the transparency that what the colors and the law the water it was like was like yo Gabba wouldn't have so I
was was like it was the only thing that killed him meet and be like now mentally the spit at you know papal and then I start looking about issues that are taboo in my community and all like most communities which are like you think if you talk about like when I was a kid I was sexually molested by my sport Peter I was in the fourth
grade I wouldn't tell my mom or anyone about it I have to seize face every day so I think this you know freedom and talk and speak about this idea and it was a well skin because if you feel we are and what I posted it ev one knew what it meant that even my family and that lex each less and then I start becoming more
aggressive aggressive in a way that I want you know to you know talk more about the quality and things I would never be able to talk about like yeah you know homosexuality is right was them rights and talk about four friends who are next in the closet like your friends for me like they cannot tell because of the families so I thought about taking this thing
and alcohol issue is like things that people don't talk about because they're afraid of what people think of them or touch them like mental illnesses and and things that our and might make as a tomboy like this painting of the month jutel female genital mutilation and how was that still been practicing and and use it so I thought that this platform to to make people more
aware things are going and to make them like talk about these issues at this very thing is talk about using green yeah and it's mental issues like I I I had the purpose that I want people to talk about their issues their their problems because for because these things and I was never been able to talk about because when I was living and the freedom to
limit the freedom I have and that because I believe that once you talk about these things you will be free you'll be able to go more you will be able to achieve yourself as a person as a young and you creative and be rates as an artist or whatever you do and for misleading give me this opportunity and I'm always I guess I'm really less because
I have a great friends and I live like with this amazing Swedish family was walking a and it's all because of you know who has been like that reason why she's been doing all this great things you thought works the organization altogether work out and help refugees to be with his family even more it's great that I'm that give you the chance to to inspire people
