Life under siege is akin to slow death, pushing the besieged to the brink of despair, at times, and at others, brings their courage to the fore. The siege that “fills the heart with sadness” is seen through the eyes of the painter of Darayya. Abu Malik, who was overwhelmed with the sadness in the people of his town, decided to “make use of my drawing talents to add some beauty and joy to the life under siege in Darayya.” His works started upon suggestions from his friends to paint the torn down walls of the city in order to turn it into paintings “that show that life still goes on despite the bombing and death.”

After developing the idea for a while, Abu Malik started thinking of the topics of the drawings. He wanted them to be “close to the people, and simple enough that everyone, regardless of their age or education, can understand.” Finally he settled on a variety of themes that reflect the suffering of the people under siege, but in ways that can deliver purposeful messages to the outside world and spread some joy and hope inside. Today, there are 20 paintings that grace the walls of Darayya.

In the beginning, Abu Malik and his friends, were afraid of any negative reactions from the locals, and so started by painting the indoor walls. But the popularity of the drawings and the celebratory atmosphere around them convinced him to move his work into the sunlight. “Some of the people actually helped me come up with new ideas and suitable places to execute them, as well as encouraging me to keep going.”

Abu Malik says that painting is a hobby to him as he never received any professional training before. Darayya was his first attempt at creating large murals: “I found in besieged Darayya, an open canvas to draw on, where people opened their streets for me to color them.” The siege means that he doesn’t have choice in terms of available colors but he uses any available material to execute his ideas.

As with many Syrian youths, Abu Malik’s story starts with the uprising, when he found himself imprisoned in the city of Darayya without the ability of attending his first year of university. He, and the group of youths whom he met, did not surrender to despair and they created their own world of art and knowledge. Among their projects was the public library they created out of the ruins of household book collections and libraries.