عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

Iraqi Laborer Preserves Calligraphic Art

Iraqi calligrapher Wael al-Ramadan, 49, wipes the glass on one of his Arabic calligraphy framed art pieces at his workshop in al-Ashar district of Iraq's southern city of Basra on December 19, 2021. (AFP)
Iraqi calligrapher Wael al-Ramadan, 49, wipes the glass on one of his Arabic calligraphy framed art pieces at his workshop in al-Ashar district of Iraq's southern city of Basra on December 19, 2021. (AFP)
TT
20
TT

Iraqi Laborer Preserves Calligraphic Art

Iraqi calligrapher Wael al-Ramadan, 49, wipes the glass on one of his Arabic calligraphy framed art pieces at his workshop in al-Ashar district of Iraq's southern city of Basra on December 19, 2021. (AFP)
Iraqi calligrapher Wael al-Ramadan, 49, wipes the glass on one of his Arabic calligraphy framed art pieces at his workshop in al-Ashar district of Iraq's southern city of Basra on December 19, 2021. (AFP)

When he is not hauling concrete blocks on a construction site in northern Iraq, Jamal Hussein devotes his time to preserving the gentle art of Arabic calligraphy.

Though he has won awards in numerous competitions, Hussein acknowledged that "you can't live on this", the artistic handwriting of Arabic script.

"I have a big family. I have to find other work," said the father of 11, who is 50 years old and earns his keep working on building sites in the Iraqi Kurdish town of Ranya.

Last week, the United Nations culture agency declared Arabic calligraphy an "Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity", following a campaign by 16 countries led by Saudi Arabia and including Iraq.

"The fluidity of Arabic script offers infinite possibilities, even within a single word, as letters can be stretched and transformed in numerous ways to create different motifs," UNESCO said on its website.

Abdelmajid Mahboub from the Saudi Heritage Preservation Society involved in the proposal to UNESCO said the number of specialized Arab calligraphic artists had dropped sharply.

Hussein is one of them, and he welcomed the UNESCO decision.

He hopes it will push "the Iraqi government and the autonomous Kurdistan region to adopt serious measures" to support calligraphy -- "khat" in Arabic -- and its artists.

Practicing since the 1980s, his decades of experience and participation in competitions are attested to by about 40 medals and certificates displayed at his home.

In October he came second in an Egyptian online competition, and is now training for a contest next month in the Iraqi city of Najaf.

For decades, in the major regional centers of Cairo, Amman, Beirut or Casablanca, calligraphy was displayed on storefronts, on walls featuring popular sayings, or on plaques at the entrances of buildings to signal the presence of a lawyer or a doctor.

Today, the remnants of this calligraphy are only visible on the faded facades of old shops.

Still, nostalgia for the vintage aesthetic has become something of a trend, as hipsters of the region post pictures of their discoveries for their followers on social media.

But in impoverished, war-scarred Iraq, there is no support from the government "whether for calligraphy or for other arts," Hussein lamented.

"Because of technology, the sanctity of calligraphy has declined," he told AFP.

"Calligraphy requires more time, more effort and is costlier. People are moving towards cheaper technological production."

At the other end of Iraq, in the southern city of Basra, Wael al-Ramadan opens his shop in an alley.

A client arrives to inquire about the preparation of an administrative stamp used to confirm attendance.

Ramadan seizes one of his sharp-nibbed pens and starts again to practice the art which his father introduced him to when he was still a child.

On paper he slowly begins to trace the requested words, with Arabic letters distinguished by their elegant curves.

Like his fellow calligrapher Hussein, Ramadan applauds UNESCO for its "great support for calligraphy and calligraphers all over the world."

Ramadan earns money by teaching the discipline in schools but also sells his skill for advertisement purposes.

"We hope that the government will take an interest in this art, through exhibitions and competitions," said Ramadan, 49.

"The survival of Arabic calligraphy depends on the support of the state."

It depends, too, on the devotion of men like Hussein and Ramadan.

"I obviously hope that my children will succeed me, just like I followed in my father's footsteps," Ramadan said with a smile.

Most Viewed

 
Varieties

Horse Therapy Program in Namibia Brings Joy to Children with Learning Disabilities

Merci who participates in the "Enabling Through the Horse," therapy program outside Windhoek, Namibia, pets a horse on Feb. 18, 2025. (AP)
Merci who participates in the "Enabling Through the Horse," therapy program outside Windhoek, Namibia, pets a horse on Feb. 18, 2025. (AP)
TT
20
TT

Horse Therapy Program in Namibia Brings Joy to Children with Learning Disabilities

Merci who participates in the "Enabling Through the Horse," therapy program outside Windhoek, Namibia, pets a horse on Feb. 18, 2025. (AP)
Merci who participates in the "Enabling Through the Horse," therapy program outside Windhoek, Namibia, pets a horse on Feb. 18, 2025. (AP)

Susan de Meyer's horses have different effects on different children. Hyperactive kids learn to be a little quieter around them while nonverbal children are moved to communicate and to bond with them.

De Meyer runs a program in the southern African country of Namibia that harnesses the power but also the gentleness of horses to help children with learning disabilities and conditions like ADHD and autism.

Each weekday morning, de Meyer's dusty paddock just outside the capital, Windhoek, is enlivened by a group of eight to 10 children from one of the special schools she helps. The children ride the horses, groom them, stroke them and often, de Meyer says, talk to them.

De Meyer grew up on a farm surrounded by horses and they've always been part of her life. She said they have a quality that is invaluable: They don't judge the children, no matter how different they are.

"The horse is the hero in this whole situation because these kids don’t want to be around a lot of people," de Meyer said.

De Meyer's program, "Enabling Through the Horse," is supported by the Namibian Equestrian Federation and won an award last year from the International Equestrian Federation because it "underlines the wonderful characteristics of the horse in exuding sensitivity and intuition."

Horse therapy has been promoted by autism groups and those that work with children with learning disabilities as having a positive impact. And animal therapy in general has been found to be useful in many instances, like dogs that help military veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and therapy cats that are taken to hospitals and nursing homes.

Some survivors of the devastating 2023 Hawaii wildfires found relief in horse therapy while grieving loved ones they had lost.

De Meyer jokes she has "two-and-a-half horses." These include two Arabians — a white mare named Faranah and a brown gelding, Lansha — while the "half" is a miniature horse called Bonzi, who is about head-high for a 5-year-old.

The Arabians are often the most useful for the children's therapy because of their size, de Meyer said.

"It gives them self-esteem. When they stroke the horse, the therapy starts because this is a very big animal compared to their height, and they are not scared to stroke the horse ... and then to ride it and tell the horse what they want," she said.

De Meyer works with children with a range of conditions or disabilities, including autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, Down syndrome, those who are nonverbal or touch sensitive, and some who were born with fetal alcohol syndrome and have developmental problems.

She has received interest from other countries in Africa and Asia to start similar programs there.

"The changes that I’ve seen with the learners are significant," said Chriszell Louw, a teacher at Dagbreek School, which says it is one of just two government schools in Namibia for children with intellectual disabilities. "We have a learner that likes to talk a lot. When we come here, she knows she has to keep quiet. She sits in her place."

"Some of them you see they are more open, they are happy. Some of them were very scared when they started with the horse riding but now they are very excited. When they hear we’re going to the horses they are very excited and just want to go by themselves," Louw said.

De Meyer said her program helps with fine-motor skills, gross-motor skills, muscle strengthening, coordination, balance and posture, all important for kids who struggle to sit at a desk at school and learn.

One simple exercise de Meyer has children do when they ride is to let go of the reins and stretch their arms out straight and to the sides, using only their torso and lower body to balance as a groom leads the horse around the paddock.

Some of the kids break out in smiles when they let go and look like they're soaring.

"We make the world different for these kids," de Meyer said.