Sometimes I Paint a House for Us
Non-Fiction Children
“Please, don’t ever forget us!”
A house, a bathroom with a shower—these are the things that ten-year-old Tajala from Afghanistan can only dream of or draw in a picture. She has had to flee from her homeland and is stranded in the refugee camp Kara Tepe on Lesbos.
The photographer and emergency aid worker, Alea Horst, spoke with her and other children in this camp, asking them about their everyday life, about their experiences, fears and dreams, even about their favorite jokes. The result is a heart-rending collection of portraits, snapshots, and dramatic but also hopeful accounts. With this book, the gifted photographer gives the camp children a face and a voice. The illustrator, Mehrdad Zaeri, himself once a refugee from Iran, presents their desires in lively images.
• Evocative artwork and children’s voices
• Compelling and touching photographs, that show everyday life in a refugee camp
Alea Horst born in 1982, has two children and lives in a small forest house in Germany. Until 2015 she worked as a freelance photographer for families, children and weddings. In early 2016, she decided to go to Lesbos as a volunteer emergency worker, which changed her life forever. Since then, she has supported many aid organizations and projects in different countries as a photographer, emergency worker and human rights activist. In 2021 she founded her own association, Alea e. V.
Mehrdad Zaeri was born in Isfahan, Iran, in 1970. At the age of fifteen, he fled to Germany with his family. Aft er finishing school, he began his artistic career as a freelance artist. He has been illustrating books since 2008. Since 2014, he has been performing on countless stages in Germanspeaking countries as a live illustrator and storyteller.
“Please, don’t ever forget us!”
A house, a bathroom with a shower—these are the things that ten-year-old Tajala from Afghanistan can only dream of or draw in a picture. She has had to flee from her homeland and is stranded in the refugee camp Kara Tepe on Lesbos.
The photographer and emergency aid worker, Alea Horst, spoke with her and other children in this camp, asking them about their everyday life, about their experiences, fears and dreams, even about their favorite jokes. The result is a heart-rending collection of portraits, snapshots, and dramatic but also hopeful accounts. With this book, the gifted photographer gives the camp children a face and a voice. The illustrator, Mehrdad Zaeri, himself once a refugee from Iran, presents their desires in lively images.
• Evocative artwork and children’s voices
• Compelling and touching photographs, that show everyday life in a refugee camp