Art from the Heart

This is the digital exhibition of artworks and message from children all over the world prepared by the Children's Advisory Team of Child Rights Connect. The goal is to support the discussion at the Annual Day on the Rights of the Child at the UN Human Rights Council about children in armed conflict by showing how children see the world, how conflict affects them, and what they want adults and decision makers to do to protect them.

Children’s voices matter. Their views matter. Even, and especially, in times of war. When children are listened to, peace becomes possible.

غزة التي أريد

ليست خيمة على صدر الريح

ولا عداد دم

يعمل ليل نهار

أريدها صباحاً

تفتح نافذتها على بحر هادئ

وصيادا

يعود بشباك مليئة بالسمك

لا بثقوب القذائف

أريدها

تكتب واجباتها المدرسية

لا أسماء الشهداء

وتعد نجوم السماء

لا الطائرات

أريدها أما

تنتظر أبناءها من المدرسة

لا من تحت الركام

وتخبز الخبز

برائحة الزعتر

لا الدخان

غزة التي أريد

مدينة تشبه الحياة

تمشي حافية على الرمل

وتضحك

دون أن تنحني للعالم

English Translation

The Gaza I want Is not a tent on the chest of the wind,

Nor a blood counter Working day and night.

I want it as a morning

That opens its window to a calm sea,

And a fisherman returning with nets full of fish,

Not with the holes Of shells.

I want it writing its school homework,

Not the names of martyrs;

Counting the stars in the sky, not the warplanes.

I want it as a mother waiting for her children from school,

Not from beneath the rubble;

Baking bread that smells of thyme, not of smoke.

The Gaza I want Is a city that resembles life,

Walking barefoot on the sand

And laughing… Without ever bowing to the world.

The Gaza I Want غزة التي أريد

First Name: Lama

Age: 13

Country: Palestine

Type: Poems and Short Stories

Description:

These artistic works were developed within the framework of the Child Protection Area of Responsibility (CP AoR) initiative “Gaza We Want.” The initiative supports children and young people in expressing their hopes, experiences, and visions for a peaceful future through creative and artistic mediums.