Students from war torn countries find healing and power through art

Murtaza (on the left) included a picture of himself winning at a wrestling competition in his video work to show his power.

Standing on a black metal plate, Murtaza gripped his hands tightly on the cold iron bar with two heavy weight plates attached on both sides. He held his breath, adjusted his posture and then quickly pulled the bar from the ground with a steady and powerful movement. The video continued by showing pictures of Murtaza winning at wrestling competitions with joyful pashto music playing in the background.

The video was created by a student film maker, Murtaza Ahad, an 18-year-old Pashtun student at Brooklyn International High School. As part of the school’s current “Art as Therapy” exhibition, Murtaza said making this video has empowered him mentally and helped him convey his pride in his cultural identity.

Originally from Pakistan, Murtaza arrived in the U.S. with his family of seven in 2013, fleeing war and violence in his home country. One of his brothers still lives in Pakistan and Murtaza hopes they can reunite soon.

“When I came to this country, people bothered me because of who I am, ” said Murtaza, who organized the art exhibition in his Flatbush Avenue high school for his fellow students to express their stories through creative works. “They think we are all terrorists.”

Kevin Jean Marie created the “Rise Up!” spray painting to encourage his fellow students to be persistent in achieving their goals.

Across the brightly lit hallway, the words “Rise Up,” spray-painted in vibrant reds and yellows with 3D effect demanded attention. Kevin Jean Marie, a senior originally from Haiti, hoped with this graffiti-like art piece to signal a sense of persistence among the chaos. Kevin arrived with his family four years ago. He had to leave his mother back home in Haiti.

Kevin and Murtaza are among the 350 students at BIHS, all of whom are new immigrants having arrived in the U.S. within the last four years. Around 29 percent of the students are in families with incomes below federal poverty level and around 4 to 5 percent of them are refugees, having experienced some form of trauma and disruption in their lives before arriving in the U.S. Many have experienced interrupted education. The refugee numbers have dropped from 8 to 10 percent before the Trump administration as less of them are allowed to enter the U.S., according to Elena Sullivan, the social worker at the school.

Communicating can be a challenge, said Assistant Principal Laura Alcazar, who has worked at the school for 15 years. “Every year there’s just a few students who are hard to reach,” said Alcazar. Those are students who generally arrive without families, or without support from home. Sometimes it’s hard for them to trust us at the school, she said; others may have never succeeded in school, or are traumatized in ways that prevent them from connecting to people.

Most of the refugee students were placed in the school through the International Rescue Committee, a nonprofit helping people who’ve experienced conflicts and disasters to survive and recover from past traumas. In addition to the support they could get from the committee, refugee students at the Brooklyn International High School also have access to a variety of art programs including dance, visual arts, theatre and media arts.

From small, embellished cultural artifacts associated with their memories from home, to colorful paintings documenting their growth in self-consciousness and poems conveying emotional ties with families and friends left behind in the war zone, the works in the Art Exhibition provide a curated window into students’ experiences; understandings that as immigrant students they may not be able to express as well in English.

“We just want a place where students can express themselves, even if they don’t speak formal English,” said Alcazar.

Malcolm Sacks, the art teacher for seniors, said art can be therapeutic as well as provide a means to improve critical thinking and creativity. “Art allows them to process certain things, or to talk about certain things without talking about them, being able to draw a picture without saying the words,” said Sacks.

A student from Iraq created this dramatic work showing the trajectory of life which ultimately leads to death.

Sacks said he had a student from Iraq who was a young child at the beginning of Iraq war. “He told me that he didn’t want to talk about it, but he’s able to create art that allows him to release something,” said Sacks, “or to express something that he’s not comfortable to actually say or write down.”

Seniors at Brooklyn International High School have art class four days a week, and extra after-school art club. Sacks, who came to the school in September last year, strives to have his students experience a variety of art forms to express their feelings. Students design their own dramatic plays, paintings, media collages and sculptures. Sacks said some students who struggle with academic courses like reading or math, are often able to shine in art classes and discover other ways to communicate and succeed.

Through the “Art as Therapy Exhibition,” Sacks hopes students will probe their emotions, and share methods of coping.

“I want them to think about what kinds of therapeutic purposes art can serve in their lives,” said Sacks. “What do I do when I feel sad, and what art can I create to help others?”

The exhibition organized by Murtaza was divided into sections of hope, growth, memory, self-understanding and power. The students incorporated these elements into their artwork to express their own interpretations of the world.

Students created paintings and cultural artifacts to express their feelings and make a statement.

Art education is a common tool used in schools to help refugee and immigrant students cope with traumatic experiences, and resulting anxiety issues. The form of art therapy “uses the creative process to encourage personal growth and alleviate symptoms of mental illness,” according to a 2014 study on a Burma Art Therapy Program. Art was used to help refugee adolescents from Burma combat their trauma-related symptoms such as PTSD, depression and anxiety. Over 90 percent of the participants had witnessed a traumatic event.

Following 16 weeks of art therapy, the study showed that the participants reported fewer symptoms of anxiety, decreasing from 20 percent to 19 percent. Those who had severe difficulties in school decreased from 17 to 12 percent.

Ryan Minezzi, the 9th and 10th grade art teacher at Brooklyn International High School, said students with traumatic experiences in the past can also share their stories in a positive and empowering way.

For one of the class projects, students were asked to create a large-scale portrait representing their heroes, whether it’s their family members or religious leaders, and share it with the rest of the class.

“They present in English for the first time to the whole class of students and they feel charged and empowered.” said Minezzi. “It’s not directly like ‘you’re a refugee, you’ve had a hard life so tell me about it.’ It’s more of a way celebrating what’s working well in your life and what’s great in your life, rather than some of the trauma stuff in the past.”

Murtaza is currently working as a security guard at the supermarket after school during weekdays and for the weekends, he also works for delivery services. For him, being able to showcase his power through art is really important as it constantly reminds of himself who he really is.

Murtaza included his ethnic identity as a Pashtun in the video to show his cultural pride.

“I’m proud of my people, I’m proud of my language and I’m proud of who I am.” said Murtaza.