"Innocence"

When I was younger, my sister used to tie my hair in two pigtails and dress me up in a red and gold Afghan dress. I was quite cheeky as a child and would throw my green scarf in people’s faces and run away, giggling. 

Seeing the sad pictures of the homeland have made me think of its children again and whether the broken surroundings will be a direct metaphor of their future, which we were lucky enough not to be exposed to.

My heart bleeds for the children affected by war. They didn’t choose this. They didn’t want to be the pawns of superpowers or for their land to be the ground for warfare. They are the next generation, so how much have we failed them if this is what they’re looking at?

To every Afghan child, may your laughter and joy replace your tears and pain. I hope we get to see the cheekiness and playfulness of your youth, instead of the forced maturity you’re having to live by.

I’m sorry… I’m sorry humanity has failed you this badly. 💔

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Materials used: Faber Castell fineliner in XS, Derwent sketching pencil in HB, Prismacolor Premium in green, red, yellow, dark/light brown and beige.

Broken surroundings loosely based on Marwa al-Sabouni’s architecture.