Haawiyat

The brainchild of A. David Lewis, an American comic book writer and graphic novelist, Haawiyat features 8 pages of well-known, timeless Syrian folk tales illustrated in a variety of kid-friendly styles and published entirely in Arabic: "The Miller and the Two Gins," "The Story of the Five Cakes," and "The Story of the King's Daughter's Earring." When choosing the stories, Lewis and his multinational team of creators and translators used caution to avoid conjuring traumatic memories for the children; mental health professionals and onsite experts helped guide the process. (Click here [PDF] to read the stories in English.) These tales are intended to deliver a measure of solace, sense of control, and/or narrative stability to children who may have lost everything.

As a whole, the comic explores themes of forgiveness, hope, and determination in times of strife. Of the 3 stories, "The Story of the Five Cakes" best exemplifies the comic’s message of compassion. The tale, which comes from a collection compiled by Syrian poet, Samir Tahhan, and translated by American anthropologist, Andrea Rugh, follows a mother's journey to feed her starving children. Discovering she only has 5 cakes in her cupboard, the mother grants each of her 5 children a cake, even though doing so would leave her hungry. The children, in turn, meet her compassion by halving each of their cakes and giving them back to her. Presented with their sacrifices, the mother donates the cakes back to the community so that no other child will be forced to face hunger - a metaphor for the beauty of communal compassion in seemingly hopeless times.

Shipped out in early April 2017 to Northern Syria and Turkey with the help of NuDay Syria, a New England-based relief company, the 8-page black and white issue is envisioned by CYRIC as a proof of concept for an expanded incarnation that will have more stories, be in full colour, and go out to many more children.

Children

Of the 4.9 million displaced Syrians currently residing in refugee camps, nearly half are children. After fleeing Syria, a nation badly bloodied by civil war, refugees are finding themselves trapped in migratory limbo for long stretches of time as they await placement in foreign, and often unwelcoming, lands. Syrian children suffer new traumas within the camps in their fight for survival and acceptance.