Action For Sama’s ‘We Dared to Dream’ exhibition at P21 Gallery, (King cross) December 2022.

15 December 2021 marks 6 years since we were forcibly displaced from Aleppo. 6 years since we were forced to flee our homes because we were given one choice: leave, or die. 

As part of our commemoration of the anniversary of our displacement, we want to honour the friends we lost and the people whose lives continue to be uprooted and destroyed by the ongoing attacks of the Syrian Regime and its allies. We have gathered objects and personal effects that tell the stories of these human beings who experienced the devastation of the time and who were subjected to the horrors that took place in Aleppo exactly 5 years ago. 

The items you see in this exhibition belong to us - Waad, Hamza, Afraa and Salem - as well as our friends with whom we shared our last days in Aleppo. Some of the objects belong to people who are no longer with us, whose lives were brutally taken by the indiscriminate violence of Syrian Regime and Russian forces. 

Thank you for your being here and for listening to our stories.

PHOTO GALLERIES

LAUNCH EVENT (MON 12 DEC)

PUBLIC EXHIBITION

BEHIND THE SCENES

EXHIBITION ITEMS

Click on the object to read the story behind it.

THE SCENT OF ALEPPO

Waad al-Kateab shares, “When we had to say goodbye to everything inside Aleppo, we thought about taking as much stuff as we can as a memory. But when we were wearing our clothes that day, we didn’t even think about those. We just needed to keep as warm as possible. We were so cold - it was -4 degrees.

But the moment we stepped outside Aleppo, these clothes became one of the most important things for us.  

It is the clothes that we survived with. It is the clothes we brought out of Aleppo. They have a smell which reminds us of everything that happened. You can smell the smoke. There is a very special smell from Aleppo which I find hard to even describe. It is unique. The scent of these clothes may be horrible for so many people, but for me - this is the smell of home.

I tried to keep these belongings safe. For years, I would keep opening this bag of clothes and every time I opened it, it took me back and I remembered everything. I always have a very good feeling when I smell this. 

We wanted to bring this to the exhibition and we hung the clothes in front of a display of pictures with us wearing them. And when we were putting the clothing on the rails, the smell meant everything to me.

Visually, with everything we had there at the exhibition, your brain still knows you are in London - your mind still holds you back from going there fully. But the smell of the clothes - the smell of Aleppo - for me, is something that has the power to crush my body and makes me feel like I have never left.”