This multimedia MEDIUM set of stories was jointly authored by Yara Al-Athel, Tiajna Amayo, Juan Carlos Castillo, Nick Cicchitelli, Laura Cross, Catherine Gessner, Dana Ghanem, Emily Marks, Pedro Molina, Devin Van Houten and Frankie Wong (alphabetical order). Editors were Susan Moeller and Daphne Wales.

(MY)GRATION • A Stapled Passport

Passing through ports has shattered my sense of home. Learn how mobility has shaped my life.

“I do not believe we will ever reach the peace we once had.”

Follow the trajectory of my object as it migrates from Latakia, Syria to Dubai, UAE to Beirut, Lebanon and finally to Montreal, Canada.

The Stapled Passport Migrating.

“Nothing or no one will ever take the place in my heart that is for my country.”

PASSPORTS act as Dana Ghanem’s gateway to the world.

Dana is originally from Syria, but with her father’s fear for her and her family’s safety due to the civil war, they migrated to Canada. While Syria has a special place in her heart, it’s difficult for her to to identify what is now home. Yet, realizing that the Syrian Civil War is not coming to an end anytime soon, she is extremely grateful to call Canada her “home.”

Dana’s passport represents her ability to move around the world, but also holds an emotional component: a stamp from the last time she was at home in Syria. While Dana isn’t physically there, as she moves around the world the Syrian passport stamp reminds her of where she’s from. Dana is a B.A. student majoring in multimedia journalism at the Lebanese American University, in Beirut. She has studied in three different countries: the UAE, Canada and Lebanon.

To migrate to another story in the series click on one of the object photos below OR click to return to the (MY)GRATION home page.