A Love Letter To Syria

Smell triggers memories and emotions. A bottle of perfume that can take us back to someone we love. The food that brings us back home. Everybody can relate to that feeling. And that's exactly what I love the most about this piece.

Imagine leaving your home forever. Being forced to create a new one somewhere else, probably without the possibility of carrying with you your most precious treasures. A family portrait. An old jersey you love.

When Tamara Alrifai's parents fled Syria in 2013, they tried to build a new home in Egypt. They tried to recreate the decoration of their old house in Damascus. They cooked the same food, used the same spices. But something remained "not quite set".

They missed the smell of apricots and peaches, that announced the arrival of 'jam-making season'. The scent of lemon blossom and gardenia on hot summer nights. Something hard to describe, but yet so easy to understand.

"Infusing my present with flavors from my past has become a daily act of resistance for me—of survival."

This beautiful piece is a love letter to Syria, to a lost home, to friends and family. To memories and traditions.

I think it is also important to understand why sometimes refugees struggle to adapt to their new 'homes', to let go of their traditions. Why sometimes they hold onto them more than ever before.