Syrian refugees are using art to show Canadians what their new home means to them.
Twelve refugees out of the 25,000 that arrived in Canada since 2015 were given cameras and an assignment: take photos to captures their thoughts and emotions about living in a new country.
Amina Jalabi created project and curated the photos as part of her Masters degree in Art Education.
Some people took thousands of photos, while others only a few dozen.
When it was time to review the photos and whittle them down to four from each participant, Jalabi was expecting to see photos of families or daily life.
Insted she found three recurring themes among every photographer.
"These were water, nature, and architecture," said Jalabi.
"One of the girls took a photo of her friend swimming and we chose a caption, 'my friend swimming peacefully while other people and other friends are drowning,'" in reference to the dangerous boat trips across the Mediterranean that thousands of refugees are making to get around from the murderous regime in Syria.
Maria Azad came to Canada a year ago with her parents and sisters.
The young photographer snapped pictures of her first Christmas, her school, and a tree.
"This one, there is always hope after hardship, like if we work hard in our life we can get what we wish," said Maria.
Jalabi finds the photos, and their message, uplifting.
"I see a lot of positive feelings toward their new country and their new home."
The exihibt, which was sponsored by Singa Quebec, is open to the public at the chalet in Lafontaine Park for the next two weeks.
