Pass the Crayon

"Looking back on that time, Rasha says, 'my brain was frozen'. Eventually, they had to flee again. The constant change, loss of stability, and separation from her family caused Rasha to become very depressed. Her daughter, who was now 5 years old, would come to her and ask, "Mother, why are you crying?" This lasted until very recently, when Rasha realized she must be strong for her family, and never give up hope."

We only have ten days to go until the launch of this year's Berlin Human Rights Film Festival!🎥🕊️If you still haven't decided which screenings to attend, then here is a helpful list of migration focused movies you should definitely check out. 🔍 See you all there! 💖

8 Borders, 8 Days

 Sham, a fierce single mother of two from Syria, wants to provide her children with a safe life and future. When the situation in the country critically worsens, Sham applies for a resettlement to the US, which is denied. The only possibility she is left with is to flee Syria illegally, risking her children’s lives on an uncertain and dangerous odyssey to increasingly unwelcoming Europe.

For tickets, click here

8, Lenin Avenue

Moved by a desire of justice and truth, the two filmmakers Valérie Mitteaux und Anna Pitoun, follow Salcuta Filan and her Roma family for over fifteen years. After leaving her home country, Romania, the widow and single mother of two arrives in a little community in the subur...

Upcycling nonprofit, Mimycri, turn abandoned lifeboats used to carry migrants across the Mediterranean, into stylish bags and accessories. I attended their recent fashion show to find out more...

The first bag on the runway was a rucksack made of pink, black, white and green canvas pieces, stitched together in a stylish geometric design. More and more models strode proudly down the catwalk sporting a mixture of satchels, holdalls, bumbags and rucksacks, each one totally unique.

Hassan was present at the fashion show, where he and a co-worker introduced the show by saying a few words in German. It was heartwarming to see how much pride and thought had gone into the whole event, and to see newcomers actively involved in the process, every step of the way.

Image via UNHCR

As I watched the canvas creations emerge on the runway, many thoughts ran through my head: How many lives have those life rafts helped to save? And, how many had they lost? How would I feel, as a refugee who had perhaps trav...

'You, Me, and The Distance Between Us', by Ellen Murial, portrays the reality of migrant camp life in all of its dirt, distress, boredom and banality. It also dissects the life of its volunteers, who very rarely get considered as more than a bunch of earnest drones searching for a cause. 

I went to watch 'You, Me and The Distance Between Us' a few weeks ago. The performance took place at M29 Theatre, a community housing project located near Gesundbrunnen. Pillows were strewn across the floor, the ambiance mellow, the room packed with people. The lights suddenly go down, the room goes quiet, and a lone figure stands on stage.

(image via Hamilton House)

Ellen Muriel introduces herself, providing us with a brief bio of her volunteering experience. Almost imperceptibly, her cadence shifts from normal dialogue to spoken word, possibly as a way of juxtaposing 'volunteer' Ellen, with 'performer' Ellen. I wondered, how will Ellen successfully manage to emb...

On International Women's Day, I attended 'Frauen und Flucht: Vulnerabilität – Empowerment – Teilhabe', an event which gave a platform for grassroots female refugee initiatives to discuss ways in which we can start to prioritize refugee women's voices more within the wider refugee discourse.

On March the 8th, I saw a lot of women walking around holding red roses (at first I was confused before guessing it had something to do with IWD), and later on, as I walked along Kottbusser Damm, I encountered the International Women's Day March itself- banners with empowering slogans waved proudly in the air, papier mache vaginas floated in the breeze, voices boomed from megaphones and music pumped from speakers. I turned down Lenaustrasse feeling pleased that I had witnessed the march, and invigorated for tonight's event. I arrived at Refugio, the community space for refugees, and host for "Women and Flight: Vulnerability, Empowerment and Parti...

Israel’s new migration policy has been met with strong condemnation from the international community, and from Israeli citizens themselves. I recently attended the event, ‘Refugee Crisis in Israel: Live Witness Accounts’ to find out more about this issue.

(torture method used in Eritrea- drawn by an Eritrean, and provided to the UN Commission of Inquiry)

The Eritrean refugee community, along with other African minority groups have been living peacefully in Israel for many years under "temporary protection"- they can speak Hebrew, they work, and some have started families of their own. They have applied for asylum, but their applications have either been ignored, or declined. Despite asylum acceptance rates for Eritreans in the EU resting at 91.4%, only 10 Eritreans and 1 Sudanese have been accepted as refugees in Israel- this is despite Israel being one of the first countries to sign the 1961 UN Refugee Declaration.

After explaining the history of migrants in Israel, Itay Mashia...

Last Thursday, Pass the Crayon attended WelcomeBazaar; an amazing Christmas market hosted by our friends at WelcomeCamp, Media Residents and Refugees Welcome.

A few weeks ago Pass the Crayon attended the re-opening of the Delphi Theatre: a wonderful retro space, with serious Roaring Twenties vibes....