In honor of Women’s History Month, we want to talk about the concept of complexity: no universal narrative can define what it means to “be a woman.” Each person is a collection of each of their identities and experiences, opportunities, and hardships. Why would women be any different? It is...
Kindness Through the Art of Banksy
Kindness could come in all shapes and forms, through an act, a word of affirmation, or even through art. One of the most famous art pieces in the history of mankind is Banksy’s Girl With Balloon. The piece was one of Banksy’s most celebrated artwork, and since his original piece,...
Five Ways to Celebrate Black History Month
“Life is very short. What we have to do must be done in the now.” - Audre Lorde Audre Lorde was an author, writer, feminist, and civil rights activist. A self-described “Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet.” Where and when did Black History Month originate: According to NPR's article, Here's the...
As Sweet as the Dreams Come True
Baking can be long and exhausting, but the end result is rewarding. You get to sit and enjoy the flavor that tickles your tongue, knowing it was your own creation. Ahmad dreamed of standing in a kitchen, making a heavenly knafeh, and drizzling baklava with the sweetness of a home...
What Does it Mean to be a Leader
Leaders are resilient — able to recover quickly from what life throws at them. Leadership is a skill, rather than a born trait, mastered through self-awareness, attention to detail, letting go of the past physically and mentally, and maintaining a positive outlook. Leaders are flexible. Plans rarely go as anticipated....
Setting Up the Right Tone for 2022
The History of New Year's Resolution: Around 4,000 years ago the ancient Babylonians were the first people to make New Year’s resolutions. They were also the very first people ever recorded to celebrate the new year. However, for the Babylonians, the new year started mid-March when the crops were planted...
2021, A Year in Review
As we count down the remaining days of 2021, we remember our blessings during yet another hard year that has crossed our journey in life. As we all know and have experienced, there have been a lot of challenges this year, to some more than last year, and to others,...
Supporting Syrian Refugees is As Simple As Water
Stories are told to mark history, they follow a plot to tell the tales of different people across generations. However, Simple As Water is more than a story told, the film does not follow a plot but touches on emotions, allowing Syrian refugees to tell their own stories. The film...
The History Behind #GivingTuesday
As Thanksgiving approaches, we think of all the things we are thankful for; our health and surviving an ongoing pandemic, being among family and friends, having food on our plates, and air in our lungs. We gather with the ones we love the most, around a table we were once...
Once On Your Feet, All You Have To Do is Walk
The things mothers do to ensure the safety of their children are something indescribable. The older we get, the closer we want to be to the place where we grew up, where we knew our parents, where we had our children. But what is life without the presence of those...
Finding Refuge in Recipes
There are different things that connect refugees to the land once they lived in. To some, it is the photos they carried from the drawers of their broken homes, to others an item of clothing that they saved from the rebels. But to Ruba, it’s the food she once picked...
From an English Teacher in Damascus, To a Refugee Rights Activist in London– A Conversation with Hassan Akkad
Hassan Akkad is a Syrian refugee, filmmaker, and refugee rights activist living in the UK. He was part of the team that made Exodus: Our Journey to Europe which won the BAFTA for Best Factual Series or Strand in 2015. Hassan worked in TV production and Choose Love, a refugee...
Hope is Our Strongest Weapon
These past weeks have brought deep heartbreak. We’ve watched people fall from planes in efforts to flee and listened to the pleas of the Afghan citizens who now fear for their lives under Taliban rule. In Haiti, we’ve tried to comprehend the magnitude of destruction and loss of life, as...
Karam House Sends Amal off on Her Journey
The path that refugees take, the moment they leave their destroyed homes, to wherever their feet lead them, is long and tiring. And even though people around the world know that the rocky roads or dangerous boat rides that the refugees take are dangerous, they do not understand the pain...
In Conversation with Witnesses to War’s Photojournalist Bassam Khabieh
Karam Storyteller Nour Al Ghraowi interviews photojournalist Bassam Khabieh as he talks about his book Witnesses to War, and the importance of documenting the children during the conflict in Syria. The book tells the story of the children in Ghouta through a series of images. Purchase his book Witnesses to War on the Karam store....