Refugees carry few material goods with them when they flee war, violence or persecution in their homelands. But they do bring skills to their new countries. An exhibit in the United States shows that sometimes these skills are artistic. The Sandy Spring Museum in the state of Maryland is currently displaying the work of refugee artists from Iraq, Ethiopia and Somalia. Some of the works on exhibit represent the memories of the artists’ homelands. “My hometown is Wollo,” said Fetun Getachew, an artist from Ethiopia. “There is a marketplace once a week. People meet there at the markets for not only buying or selling, but just to meet together for so many purposes.” Her paintings show such gatherings.
