Yasser Ahmad was born in the city of Qamishli, in 1977. He started drawing caricatures upon graduating from the Teacher Preparation Institute in 1997. His art career, on the other hand, truly began in 2005, which earned him presence in eminent Arab newspapers and website, like Jazeera net. His caricatures were also met with great attention, winning 12 awards.
Caricature, like any style of art, should not be neutral, says the artist. “When it comes to humanitarian causes, you are either with the oppressed or with the oppressor. There is no grey area.” Which is why the Syrian event is never absent in his art, which spoke about the suffering of Syrian refugees and the starvation of Yarmouk Camp. His caricatures condemned the regime and its brutality, simultaneously criticizing the opposition.
The Islamic State (also known as Daesh) has been the subject of several artworks by Ahmad. In his caricatures, he depicts it as a puppet in the hands of dictators. “We all know that these radicals do not represent the revolution nor Islam. Tyrants deluded people into thinking Daesh is the actual alternative to their regime,” explains Ahmad to Mudon Newspaper.
!["Children refugees" by Yasser Ahmad](http://www.syriauntold.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/عمل-للفنان-ياسر-أحمد-By-Yaser-Ahmad-.jpg)
Yasser Ahmad derives his inspiration from reality, which he describes as an “endless source of ideas”. Today, as his nostalgia to Syria grows deeper, he finds safe haven in his colors that paint a brighter homeland.