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| Two panels from Firas Sabar's comic about his perilous journey from Iraq. The story ends with his arrival at Helsinki airport. Note: In Arabic you read from right to left. |
Hei Helsinki arranged a comics workshop for a group of Iraqi asylum seekers. They stayed in Helsinki at at a reception centre, but the workshop was held at Kiseleff’s house in Hei Helsinki’s premises in three sessions in November - December. The workshop was facilitated by Leif Packalen of World Comics Finland. The Iraqi artist Mohaned Durubi did the interpreting at the workshop.
During 2015 an unprecedented number - about 30.000 - of migrants came to Finland to request for asylum. This put a lot of strain on the authorities, but also generated many positive initiatives from NGOs and spontaneous groups. The Hei Helsinki initiative is a good example.
Samples from the workshop:
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| Hasheim Jama's story about the car bomb that killed his father. |
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| A detail from Khattab Uday's comic about the religious fighting in Bagdad. The man with the gun says: Either you follow us, or we will kill you. |
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| A detail from Mohammad Al Fith's love story, which ends with a broken heart. |
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Alaa Al Abady's story is about his journey to Finland and the reunification of his family here.
Posted by Leif Packalen |
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