Exhibition shows Germany through the eyes of Syrians

(1 Dec 2016) LEAD IN: An exhibition showing Germany through the eyes of Syrian migrants has opened in Berlin. The exhibition shows around 35 photographs, all from newly arrived migrants from Syria. STORY-LINE: Zina Hmidan's eyes light up when she looks at the photo she took of her daughter in front of the Brandenburg Gate in central Berlin. The 35-year old asylum seeker from Damascus had just arrived to Berlin with her nine-year old daughter and twelve year old son, finally being reunited with her husband after one year apart. The sun was shining, someone was blowing bubbles for the children, her daughter found a paper flower on the ground - and it was safe. She reached for her camera and took the picture that a few months later was chosen from 1000 photos to be included in an exhibition documenting Germany though Syrian eyes. "When we came to Berlin, we felt the beauty, warmth and familiarity in people around us, and this gave us a warm and sweet impression of the city… I can see that in (the children's) eyes, every time I take a photo of them they look happy and excited," she says. Hanging next to her colourful photograph is a back and white photo taken at an art exhibition in Peine, a small town near Hannover. The photo was taken earlier this year by Omar Aboud, a 32-year old asylum seeker from Damascus. Back in Syria he only took photos of the war. He would rush to bombed buildings and take photos of dead men, women, and children. Starting to take photographs of a normal daily life has been a difficult transition he says. The photographs by Hmidan and Aboud are a part of an exhibition showing 35 photographs taken by Syrian migrants in Germany. Some show German landscapes, others city scenes, and some of children being amazed by snow. The exhibition was organised by the Integration Hub, an organisation working for the integration of refugees, and sponsored by photo sharing platform Instagram. Sabrina Ravail has worked for two years to organise the exhibition. She says she was surprised how positive many of the photographs are. "Actually when you look at the pictures you can't really see if it is a German one who has taken the picture or if it is a Syrian person who has taken the picture. And I think this is the beauty, to see that we all have the same eyes," she says. For Hmidan and her family, life in Berlin is slowly starting to become normal. The children go to school and she and her husband study German five days a week, and look for work. She says Berlin is home now, and things will be fine. "Despite the difficulty of starting this new life, the positive energy we feel everywhere we go, in all the events, even during kids' activities, help us adapt and integrate quickly," she says. The exhibition 'Germany through Syrian Eyes' opened on December 1 and runs for four days. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/b3831a3bc2dfe97d091de7686ecf176d Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork