The Gallery
On this page we showcase collections of videos, recordings, word art, photographs, and drawings submitted to this project by contributors from many parts of world. They use any medium and means accessible to them, mostly smartphones, to communicate their experiences of the Covid-19 pandemic. Contributions are all from asylum seekers and refugees from many parts of the world.
photography
Wordart
Take me back
Funmi wrote this to express her sense of loss and disconnection under lockdown. She was a headteacher in a Nigerian school before she came to the UK and has worked hard since she arrived, becoming active and deeply involved in lots of different community groups.
She is currently studying for a Law degree at University of Wales, Trinity Saint David on a Sanctuary bursary. Under lockdown the meetings and connections are now online and despite Zoom she is feeling isolated again.
Click through to view all of our contributions, each with an interesting story to tell.
Poem of the day from Dino
Poem of the Day from Dino (not real name) Algerian undocumented man
Original in French
Translated by Helen Hintjens
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Naked Truth
This is an extract from Vicky’s diary. She is an undocumented migrant currently living in the Netherlands.
Diary entry 30 May 2020
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Be thankful to be alive
This is an extract from Vicky’s diary. She is an undocumented migrant currently living in the Netherlands.
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Poem by Dino
The poem was written in French and translated into English. It was written in the second Dutch lockdown, as curfew was introduced, January 2021. Dino has been undocumented in the Netherlands for decades. He has given up all hope of regularisation.
Click through to view all of our contributions, each with an interesting story to tell.
I will come back
Selina is a 75-year-old refugee. She has had spent over 18 years of her life in UK. She recently won the battle to stay legally in this country. She was homeless for a long time and survived because of the support she received from local charities in Swansea.
Her mental and physical health deteriorated dramatically during this battle.
Click through to view all of our contributions, each with an interesting story to tell.
Let me live today
This young person is a failed asylum seeker who has been waiting for 8 years with her mum to gain her status in UK. She completely missed on education, work experience and ultimately her friends. She grew up in this country, but she was never able to do what other kids at her age are doing. She is deeply stressed but she reminds herself how worthy she is. She tries to distract herself with many other skills however she often feels drained.
Click through to view all of our contributions, each with an interesting story to tell.
They let us go and we hugged each other tighter
This oil pastel picture was created by Afghani refugee and feminist Sweeta Durrani for International Women’s Day 2021. She entitled it ‘They let us go and we hugged each other tighter’ to demonstrate the love, and power of women’s networks of support both in Afghanistan and the UK – and also the world..
“This art marks International Women’s Day 2021 #IWD2021. We #ChooseToChallenge the hostile environment created by the UK Government.
Click through to view all of our contributions, each with an interesting story to tell.
A domestic worker negotiates with her employers
This was shared by Joy, a migrant worker who is currently living in the Netherlands.
“When the government imposed a Lockdown, I started sending a message to all my employers, requesting them that they pay me even half of my wages per hour if they decide not to allow me to come their house to work. I was surprised that only three of my employers had responded differently. Sad to say, the rest didn’t respond, though, they saw my message.”
1/3
Click through to view all of our contributions, each with an interesting story to tell.
A domestic worker negotiates with her employers
This was shared by Joy, a migrant worker who is currently living in the Netherlands.
2/3
Click through to view all of our contributions, each with an interesting story to tell.
A domestic worker negotiates with her employers
This was shared by Joy, a migrant worker who is currently living in the Netherlands.
3/3
Click through to view all of our contributions, each with an interesting story to tell.
I’m broke, Mother
This was shared by Joy, a migrant worker who is currently living in the Netherlands.
“My daughter, who worked as a cashier in a fast food restaurant, lost her first job after a few months due to Covid 19. Since then she spent her own savings to buy personal needs she wanted. So she decided to do a creative way to earn some money during the pandemic by holding an on-line raffle draw. The prize was her own Michael Kors bag that I gave her as gift for her graduation last year. When I learned it, I called and asked her why. She said, I am broke, mother, and I need to survive!”
Click through to view all of our contributions, each with an interesting story to tell.
Gold and Wood
This was sent by Dino, an undocumented man from Algeria, in The Netherlands for most of 25 years by 2020. Dino is not his real name.
Motto of the day
Some people look like gold, where others, in your eyes, are only worth a piece of wood. But there comes a time when you are close to drowning in the ocean of the trials of life, and you realise that piece of wood, which you instinctively cling to, is more useful and more precious than all the gold, which would only sink you deeper.
Greetings
Dino (not real name)
Subject: la devise du jour (the motto of the day)
certaines personnes te paraissent comme de l’or , tandis que d’autres ne valent , à tes yeux pas plus qu’ un morceau de bois .mais il arrive un moment ou , près de te noyer dans l’ocean des épreuves de la vie , tu t’aperçois que le moreau de bois , auquel tu t’accroches instinctivement , et plus utile et plus précieux que tout l’or qui ne serverait qu’à te couler d’avantage
salutations Dino
11.11.2020
Click through to view all of our contributions, each with an interesting story to tell.
Bitter coffee and burnt bread
This is a story written under lockdown by an Afghan refugee about losing a father. It reflects her own sense of dislocation and loss, separated from her family and isolated in her new country.
On a cold, snowy, foggy winter morning a little girl, near a wood-burning stove, which had been set on fire like a red boar, was warming her little hands.
And she enjoys the pleasant burning of the wood like her mother’s embrace, it made her feel safe and secure.
The rustling sound of papers that her father was eagerly looking for could be heard from behind. The girl felt that her father was late, he had to leave the house sooner.
Although she did not know what he was looking for, she wanted to help and create a miracle with her small hands. How great it would be if she could find the lost paper. She wanted her father to feel joy and give him a gift, albeit a small one.
As she approached him, the papers scattered onto the ground. Her father raised his head and his military hat fell on the girl’s shoulders and then fell to the ground. She panicked, fear gripped her, stopped her from moving. She was stuck for a moment. Her father bent down and found the paper he was looking for.
Without saying a word, the father took the hat and put it on his head.
The mother’s voice shook the girl’s stunned body again, saying:
“Go with your father, to buy bread from the bakery.”
The father put a cigarette in the corner of his mouth and with the smoke coming out of it opened and closed his eyes halfway in pleasure.
The girl accompanied her father to the bakery.
The father wrapped warm, fresh bread between the newsprint and handed it to the girl. As soon as he wanted to leave, he placed his heavy hands on the girl’s small, childish shoulders and gave her a warm kiss on the forehead, playful said, “pader-jaan, go home soon it’s getting cold”
The girl laughed lightly and went on her way.
The girl went to turn the door handle and involuntarily turned her head and eyes to follow her father. He turned to the right side of the alley and disappeared from sight.
Still, years later, the black boots of her father are still lying in the snow. She can still hear the sound of the crunching of snowflakes underneath his heavy, steady footsteps.
The father has been gone for years.
But the smell of bread, the burnt smell of the sides and corners of the bread, the traces of cigarette smoke left in the air behind the broad and masculine shoulders of her father. She feels it all.
The little girl drinks bitter coffee to remind her of the bitter smell of her father’s cigarettes, the bitter smell of burnt bread, the intersection of her frightened eyes and her father’s warm kiss in the scorching cold of winter.
Sweeta Durrani
Click through to view all of our contributions, each with an interesting story to tell.
Poem on Life
In this poem a highly qualified refugee from Pakistan writes of her isolation and loneliness under lockdown lamenting that she is unable to develop her potential.
Click through to view all of our contributions, each with an interesting story to tell.
Facing the elements in a cold covid climate is facing change
by Carlos Ibarra-Rivadeneira
Another year and still in COVID lockdown. Riding my bike is, for me, the best option for staying active. But cycling during winter in Wales teaches me many different lessons, especially when one cycles and sees the same locations day after day. As the weather changes so do we. One day warm and rainy and next day bitterly cold and sharply chilling. Why go out in the bitter cold and feel discomfort? What have we to gain? Everything, I say. Determination to face the elements, to bear whatever weather comes, to brave life’s ironies.
Click through to view all of our contributions, each with an interesting story to tell.
Contrast
During the dreary, cold grey winter months, when nature brings us rare and beautiful moments, like an impressive, stunning, unexpected sunset, the contrast offers us the chance of a moment to reflect on and appreciate what we already have as well as what we wish for.
Click through to view all of our contributions, each with an interesting story to tell.
Are you scared?
A different perspective on wearing face masks and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in public places or at work. Refugees are forced to leave their homeland due to threats to their lives. Therefore, they are always anxious. This refugee, who is also a key worker, feels good about wearing a mask. It’s not just a protection from the virus but from other possible threats – even threatening looks or aggression because of the colour of your skin. When the world is in lockdown, it’s the safest moment to go out for refugees and asylum seekers.
Click through to view all of our contributions, each with an interesting story to tell.
It’s so rare that refugees have a real and present platform to express themselves fully and without constraint. This project is not just about asylum seekers or refugees it’s an archive that is being co-created with them and for them. It’s a living archive that will always remain and remind future generations of this very strange moment in time and it will show them how people suffered but also how they worked together to gather and collect these stories of their lives – it’s a living museum.
Sophie De Marco 🌈
Asylum Seeker & Refugee Advice Worker, Asylum Rights Programme
Ethnic Minorities & Youth Support Team Wales (EYST Wales)
Regarding my hopes and dreams, my dearest wish is for the whole world to enjoy peace and safety, ending all wars, and for every child in the world to have the right to life. And my dearest wish for our beloved Syria is that after so much devastation and destruction of our homes, our lives, our history and our culture, that we will be able to leave a Syrian footprint in this world to show the true extent of our culture and our love for the world. And finally, I wish to integrate Arabic and European Culture in my next artworks and I thank this project for supporting me as an artist.
Hassan Al Tabbaa, Graphic Designer, Painter, Sculptor
So many families have had to choose between phone and food during lockdown. Without access to the internet children miss out on schooling, doctor’s and solicitors cannot be contacted, families cannot stay in touch and social isolation has a devastating impact on mental health. This is digital poverty.
Thanuja Hettiarachchi and Kelly Wearing, Asylum Rights Support Workers
Moria Camp, Lesvos, Greece
Photos by journalist Katy Fallon, who reported on the destruction of Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesvos in September. The graffiti ‘Human Rights Graveyard. Welcome to Europe’ sums up the grim reality: tens of thousands condemned to misery in prison-like conditions, just because they want a safe and better life.
Diary reflection on Time
Vicky’s hand-written diary entry dated 21.06.2020 starts by asking us as readers to: think about what you really care about. She ends with:
Now is the time and chance
It’s never too late
Don’t forget to always visit yourself.
Helen commented: The effect is pretty poetic. Something between prose and a poem, perhaps.
Thank you NHS and frontline workers
“My daughter who is staying at home and is unable to go to school due to Covid-19 has seen this poem somewhere online and thought she would write it down and colour it. She has been inspired by the hard work of all frontline workers and told me that she wants to be a nurse when she grows up so she could look after people”.
Eid celebrations in Corona times
World view challenged
Thursday Clapping found us new friends
Out Out
A satirical combination; material of a well- known comedian and UK government policy.
UK government communication has been the subject of fierce attack from many corners. In particular, the mixed messaging which has been very confusing for British citizens who by and large have abided strictly by the rules. However, as the lockdown has eased, we can see the effects of this mixed messaging in the behaviour of the public where some ignore while others stick by the rules. Further confusion has arisen as Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland differ in their lockdown policies. As fears of a second wave rise, the government need to communicate more clearly.
Nation / Imagination
This project shows how our imagination has been unleashed during lockdown. Living with the anxiety of uncertainty and more time on our hands has forced us to think about our lives – past, present and future. But it also makes us think about how we live together and how this virus transcends national borders and how we need global solutions more than ever. Narrow xenophobic nationalism helps no one.
This is not Europe: an apology
Recordings
Flute Music
These two audio files were shared by Alan, a Kurdish asylum seeker from Turkey who is currently living in the Netherlands.
“A friend came by because the lockdown caused him quite a lot of boredom. He remembered my interest in flutes and that I never possessed one. I wasn’t even able to play a single tune back then. But he brought his old recorder flute along and gave it to me for motivation.
I started to play and lo and behold I picked it up in a question of days. The first recording was after a week. The second one after a month.
Greed Kills
Richard Nomba Tshimanga is a volunteer with the Congolese Development Project and the Centre for African Entrepreneurship, assisting with their respective food support projects during the pandemic. Here, he tells a tale in Congolese French about the pitfalls of greed. It’s a tale which is told all over Africa and a timely reminder about how we must not let our greed infect us in Covid Times. Translated on the next slide in English.
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Greed Kills
Once upon a time there was a very rich man, the richest man in his village. He was also the most miserly man. He was nicknamed M’bibizo, meaning “the miser”. M’bibizo was uniquely stingy. With no wife nor employees, he did everything himself – even all the housework himself. He was proud of spending nothing. One day, M’bibizo fell into a well. He cried out for help and his nearest neighbour came running and held out his and, exclaiming:
“M’bibizo, give me your hand so I can get you out of the well.”
But M’bibizo hated giving anything! He hesitated to give his hand.
That hesitation was fatal. Probably he would have survived if only he had given his neighbour his hand. The wise men of the village warned that it was indeed greed that killed rich M’bibizo.
The Man on the TV
This wonderful story from renowned queer seanchaí (Irish oral storyteller) and academic Joseph de-Lappe is called The Man on the TV. It interweaves memories of growing up queer in rural Ireland, of living through other epidemics, in particular HIV/AIDS in 1980s, and how Covid triggers his father’s memories of living through polio in 1950s. He touchingly recalls his parents’ home where TV was centre stage and chat shows wired his mother to the wider world. Leaving his home and Ireland and migrating to the UK, Joe’s story makes a deft and intricate play on the changing faces of the man on the TV seen from the point of view of his mother – from his childhood to today where his mother sees his face via a webcam he installed to reconnect himself daily to home life during Covid and especially his mother whose dementia has worsened recently.
Mi Jardin - My Garden
Ruth is a Venezuelan migrant who fled from her country to seek asylum in the UK with her immediate family, leaving many behind. She worked as a teacher for 24 years and applied her creativity in teaching preschool kids. During the pandemic lockdown she started gardening, growing flowers and vegetables for first time in UK. In this audio she relates her experience.
Giving birth in lockdown
Syrian family sharing experiences of Covid-19 Test
A Syrian woman who currently resides in England shares her thoughts on Cov-19 and what it means to her and her family.
Facing quarantine alone in Colombia
Yesenia shares her testimonial about living during the pandemic in Colombia with her child. A touching story and expression of emotions.
Can’t Plan
Public Health Wales and Black Lives Matters
drawings & paintings
Gardening with Watercolours: the therapeutic value of being creative
Ruth is a mother, wife and a refugee. During lockdown she become unemployed and she felt a deep despair and sadness. She was feeling very isolated not being able to have her “normal” life activities.
Gardening with Watercolours: the therapeutic value of being creative
“She got involved in art classes and discovered the artist inside herself. She explained that her artwork allowed her to explore different ways of getting in touch with others and reducing her anguish. She said “I may not be artist, but I am creative. I am gardening with watercolours”
Covid at first sight
Image courtesy of Andrea Ibarra-Abreu, Venezualan artist and student living in South Wales
How does a teenager feel forced into lock down for nearly one year? Is COVID like love at first sight? Or is Covid like a relationship that must inevitably fail? Is COVID here to stay? Should I get used to it? This year looks pretty much same as last one so no tears just more COVID.
COVID planet
Image courtesy of Andrea Ibarra-Abreu, Venezualan artist and student living in South Wales
Is our planet a COVID planet? Is Covid just a temporary state or a more permanent condition? I think the COVID scare will have permanent repercussions because, at least for the moment, it seems that the virus has taken over the world. This is a new state (?) Isn’t it? I cannot picture how the world could be the same after pandemic ends, if ever it does.
Fake News and COVID
“The internet has been flooded with lots of fake news about vaccines, medicines, conspiracy theories that left many people even more confused about this very strange virus’’.
Art by Dijwar Ibrahim Siraj
Corona Covid Crown
Entrapment
Confinement
Loving Horses
“During lockdown many people turned to love and lovemaking, creating romantic atmospheres in their homes with scented candles (sales of which soared). These horses are smiling and looking lovingly at one another as did many who found love again in lockdown while others could only hope and dream for it.”
The Holy Trinity
Like many people, Mahsah had many challenges during lockdown to stay safe and avid giving in to depression.
“Many people also turned to religion during lockdown whether by praying or reflecting on the kind of existential questions addressed differently in different religions. Here we see an image of the Holy Trinity emerging from the crucifix.”
Dancing with my daughter
Woman in headdress
“The woman’s eyes are covered, shedding blood for tears yet the face adorned with a magnificent colourful crown.”
Pink flowers block print
