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Key Concepts

• Art Therapy/Expression: Using creative outlets to help children process trauma and express emotions they cannot verbalize.
• Humanitarian Art Initiative: A project led by artist Abed Al Kadiri to support families affected by conflict through the sale of collaborative artwork.
• Social Cohesion: The effort to bypass religious and political divisions by focusing on the universal innocence and dreams of children.
• Displacement: The forced relocation of individuals due to war, violence, and catastrophic events.

The Role of Art in Trauma Recovery

For children as young as four years old, the trauma of conflict and displacement often creates a psychological barrier to verbal communication. Drawing and scribbling serve as essential non-verbal outlets, allowing these children to externalize inner thoughts and feelings that they lack the cognitive maturity to articulate. By providing a blank page, the initiative offers a safe space for emotional release.

The Abed Al Kadiri Initiative

The project was founded by Lebanese artist Abed Al Kadiri following the 2020 Port of Beirut explosion. Initially conceived as a way to sell his own works to support affected families, the initiative evolved into a collaborative effort involving children.

• Scope and Scale: To date, the project has engaged 250 children across six different schools.
• Methodology: The artist facilitates drawing sessions where children create collaborative artworks. These pieces are then sold, with 100% of the proceeds donated to humanitarian organizations.
• Future Goals: Al Kadiri aims to scale the project to involve 1,000 children, expanding the reach of both the therapeutic sessions and the financial aid provided.

Addressing Social and Political Division

A central argument presented by Al Kadiri is that the current climate of war has fostered unprecedented levels of tension and societal division. He posits that children are the ideal demographic for this project because they have not yet been "shaped by all those religious and political ideologies" that fuel adult conflicts.

By focusing on the collective creation of art, the initiative seeks to:

1. Transcend Ideology: Shift the focus from sectarian differences to shared human experiences.
2. Promote Humanity: Emphasize the universal nature of childhood dreams and aspirations.
3. Foster Unity: Create a collaborative environment that counters the divisive nature of the surrounding conflict.

Notable Statements

• On the necessity of the project: "Drawing is very important. As we know, children at this age can't express their feelings and inner thoughts. This activity can be an outlet for that."
• On the motivation behind working with children: "What worries me a little more about this war than the previous one is the tension and division it has created. And that's why I decided to work with children, because children have not yet been shaped by all those religious and political ideologies."

Synthesis and Conclusion

The initiative led by Abed Al Kadiri serves as a dual-purpose intervention: it provides a therapeutic medium for children suffering from the trauma of displacement and war, while simultaneously generating tangible humanitarian aid through the sale of collaborative art. By prioritizing the innocence of children over the rigid ideologies of adults, the project attempts to mitigate the social fragmentation caused by conflict. The success of the program—measured by the involvement of 250 children and the goal of reaching 1,000—highlights the power of art as a tool for both individual healing and collective social resilience.