ABOUT…
Changigy ÿarike is a story that continues to be told.
Every time we hear it - even the same story - we learn something new.
We are challenged. We ask questions and are questioned.
why.
The prevailing narrative about forced migration is often distorted, incomplete - maybe even immoral. This project is an attempt to redress this.
Our motivations can be summed up in four Daju symbols.
The descriptions below do not necessarily match their precise cultural meaning,
but represent what each symbol means to us embarking on this project.
—Sâre
The {sword} helps to reverse domination, to fight against what must be resisted; it does not break.
—Ṅânje
The {hill} can be an obstacle; if overcome, the view from the top rewards the climber’s efforts.
—Shadárre
The {tree} endures through every season, it continues to grow, creating a network of community.
—Tētel
The {deer} is vulnerable, alert and nimble; its constant movement is the lodestar to its survival and its freedom.
The pages we unfold - and the words they contain - are our sword; they help us climb the hill, endure the seasons like the tree, and sustain our moving forwards, to gain and retain our freedom, like the deer.
This book is the culmination of 5 years of conversations, trips, and efforts.
we would like to share its fruits with those interested.
Opening a book can be the opening of a conversation.
We envisage it as the next best thing to sitting face-to-face with Abdu and hearing his story first-hand.
An early diagram drawn by Abdulrazik during the process of sharing his story, the details and the places.
Retracing the steps was not always linear, definite, nor easy.
Catching up from different cities.
“Sometimes life gets in the way”, but the exchanges between the authors continued even remotely.
A map drawn by Jóse depicting some of the journey’s steps outlined above.
Visuals helped the process of recollecting and of reordering. Clarity also emerged in steps.
You can find more of Jóse’s artwork and special projects on his website.
“I see the world as a constant process of encounter, in which something very real is coming into being. we don’t know what we’re going to find there until we have the encounter.”
— Iain McGilchrist, psychiatrist, scholar, and author
we plan to devolve proceeds from book Orders in a specific way.
moving forwards, We are also planning some PUBLIC TALKS & Events.
7 chapters and an interlude:
The introduction explores 9 themes:
1. REZAGER
2. CAMP
3. DESERT
4. CONTAINER
5. WATER
6. EUROPE
X. {ESCAPE}
7. REFUGE(E)
1 ~ Encounters
2 ~ Personality & representation
3 ~ A seed, a blank page, a book?
4 ~ Curiosity, an antidote to conflict
5 ~ The risk of retelling, the cracking of memory
6 ~ Reality and possibility / Actions and dreams
7 ~ Gratitude & giving
8 ~ Zooming out / The bigger picture
9 ~ Mental experiments
The book has a beginning and an end - the story continues.
To order a copy of the book, please either use the Donations button on the Proceeds page, or get in touch via email or the Contact Form.