Artist uses suitcases to tell displaced refugees stories

There is no end to an artists’ creativity. It is said to be a place that accepts no boundaries and no limits.

Mohammad Hafez, aged 33, is one such Syrian artist and architect who is sharing refugee stories through an unusual medium of suitcases.

The unique point about this artist is that he fills suitcases with miniature versions of the homes that refugees leave behind. Hafez, who lives in Connecticut, made his first Diorama as a college student at IOWA state. Each intricate Diorama takes months to complete.

For a recent series, titled “Unpacked: Refugee Baggage”, Hafez met with 10 refugee families to record their stories which viewers can listen to as they examine the corresponding sculptures.

More than 60 million people around the world are forcibly displaced and Hafez’s work brings that to life in a deeply personal way.

“While we are not trying to romanticize the label refugee, we are simply trying to expand the definition of a refugee- that the refugee can be your fellow, neighbor, your fellow classmate.” Explain Hafez.

At a time when so many are being turned away, giving a voice to the voiceless can bring an end to xenophobic stereotyping.