أن تصبح

Becoming

Duaa

Listen in Arabic (subtitled in English) | الاستماع بالعربية

Duaa's Story

On the way here, where no one lets you lean on them, no one stops to listen to you. On the cold path, I was nothing but a mother to a little boy, barely a year old. I experienced many moments that could have revealed my fragility. But they didn’t. I was so fragile that the smallest sound scared me.

I was on my own: my parents were in one place, and my husband in another. And I’m here in a strange country. I lived in a big house with four rooms and a big corridor. I chose one room for myself, and the other three rooms were naked, spreading coldness throughout the house.

Despite that, I had no desire to return to my war-ridden country. I also wasn’t optimistic about reaching my husband, and stability. I was daydreaming the whole time about trivial matters that did not exceed the walls of that house, like cooking, cleaning, and laundry, and if my thoughts did exceed the walls, it was to plan to spend time in a big market.

I spent hours busy with climbing spiders, and the landlady and her endless requests. Time went by quickly while I was busy with worthless issues that were forgotten quickly.

I hadn’t known back then that I had lost a beautiful child in the corners of that house, stubborn like a caged bird, playing alone, away from me and my thoughts. I lost a child who to me was a heavy burden. I was incapable of giving him enough of my time. If only someone could visit that big house and tell the child I lost there, that I miss him.

عن العمل "أن تصبح"

مشروع تركيب فني (انستاليشن) في سوق شبردز بوش بتكليف من شباك ٢٠١٩. يستقصي المشروع قضايا النزوح، الهجرة، الاندماج، العيش المشترك، الانتماء والصيرورة. الاستماع إلى تسجيلات النساء وقراءة قصصهن في الرابط أدناه (في اللغة الإنجليزية) .
للمزيد

About the work

Becoming was an installation in Shepherd’s Bush Market by artist Héla Ammar, commissioned for Shubbak 2019. The work explored questions of displacement, migration, integration, belonging and becoming. Listen to recordings of the women and read their stories using the links below.
Find out more

الاستماع للقصص

Hear the stories

Two women pass in front of a mural on shop shutters
Large scale mural installed in a busy market
Large scale mural installed in a market
Portrait of a woman kissing a young boys face
Large scale mural installed in a market
Portrait of veiled woman and curtain in a marketplace
Portrait of a woman on a bridge with a bike
Large scale mural installed in a market
Large scale mural installed in a busy market