2 21 C Mp Etition S T H E U Nheard Voices of Conflict
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21 Co 20/ mp 20 et • it T io h n e W U i n n n h e e r a s r d V • o t ice lic s of Conf During the 2020/21 competition we received entries from these 99 countries, territories and dependencies: Afghanistan Guyana Oman Argentina Honduras Pakistan Armenia Hong Kong Panama Australia India Peru Austria Indonesia Philippines Azerbaijan Iran Qatar Bahrain Iraq Romania Bangladesh Ireland Russia Belarus Italy Rwanda Belgium Japan Saint Kitts and Nevis Bhutan Jersey Scotland Bolivia Jordan Serbia Bosnia and Herzegovina Kazakhstan Sierra Leone Brazil Kenya Singapore Bulgaria Kuwait Slovakia Canada Kyrgyzstan South Africa Chile Lebanon South Korea China Liberia Spain Colombia Libya Sri Lanka Costa Rica Lithuania Sweden Cyprus Macedonia Taiwan Czech Republic Malaysia Tajikistan Dominica Mexico Thailand Dominican Republic Moldova Tunisia Ecuador Mongolia Turkey Egypt Montenegro Uganda England Morocco Ukraine France Nepal United Arab Emirates Georgia New Zealand United States Germany Nicaragua Uzbekistan Greece Nigeria Vietnam Guatemala Northern Ireland Wales Guernsey Norway Zimbabwe Competition Winners Ages 9-11 Poetry (9-11) - 1st Place A Military Child by Tyler Larkin, England One bleak winter morning, More unusual than most. My dad left home to catch his flight, For his new overseas post. My head could not quite grasp it, My heart was running wild, Conflicting emotions often felt, By a military child. I question why he left us, I could not say for sure. He could not take us with him, Yet he did not go to war. My father is a soldier, A hero, I believe. Yet to serve among an army, Means that sometimes they must leave. Till’ now I’ve been quite lucky, His job remained right here. For only once he went to war, And I was too young to feel fear. He’s never been away so long, It’s goodbye, but not forever. A year will come to pass, And again, we’ll be together. In dark times I have carried on, Through sadness I have smiled. This is strength conveyed from soldiers, To a military child. Poetry (9-11) - 2nd Place Voices, Voices by Tom Nalder, New Zealand And from the darkness, And from the air, came voices of conflict the smoky coughing voices: we’d never heard begging: “We can’t breathe, “Let us join the world.” save us now.” And from the fire, And from the sky, and smoke and ash the faint voices of stars: came war-torn voices: “You have stolen our light, “Give us a country we can’t shine bright.” where we can live in peace.” Now in the light And from the sea, of knowledge and hope: the voices of refugees: “Let us banish conflict “Please let us in, from my life and yours.” please let us join you.” And from the earth, the angry voices of hills and forests: “Don’t destroy us, don’t forget us.” Tom’s Inspiration: I thought of the elements earth, air, fire, and water then added darkness and light, to show that every corner of the earth and sky, is packed with unheard voices of conflict. Voices that I tried to move from the darkness to the light, so that they can be seen, heard and listened to. Poetry (9-11) - 3rd Place Крестьянская война by Roman Vasiliev, Russia Сто лет назад Крестьяне вышли и восстали В России крестьянин Против всех грабителей. Вовсе не был рад «Не дадим больше блин!» - Иметь земельный чин. Ответил крестьянин. У деда семеро детей, Они с вилами, косами С утра пахали, сеяли. Стали воевать с ними. Было коней четверо, По снегу полилась кровь Коровы, петухи пели. Алая, как морковь. Вечером лапти плели, Дед мой, зажиточный, Потом это продавали, Как мог, сопротивлялся. Так жили, не тужили, «Ты подохнешь точно!» - Но тишину нарушили. Солдат с ружьём махался. Одна война, вторая… Толкнули рыть могилу, И все: «Давайте хлеб!» И перед ямой – в лоб! С ружьём искали рая, Бросили чуть землю, В село они топ-топ. Никто не видел чтоб. Крестьянин: «Не дам!» Солдат хоронили Начал прятать зерно. С памятником со звездой. А солдаты: «Ням-ням! А крестьян хоронили Ну, должно ж быть оно!» Как скота, без обряда. Please See the Following Page for an English Translation Peasant’s War A hundred years ago The peasants came out and rebelled In Russia, a peasant Against all robbers. Wasn’t happy at all “We won’t give more pancakes!” - Have a rank of land. The peasant answered. Grandfather has seven children They are with pitchforks, braids We plowed and sowed in the morning. They began to fight with them. There were four horses, Blood poured in the snow The cows and the roosters were singing. Scarlet like carrots. In the evening we wove bast shoes My grandfather, well-to-do, Then they sold it, He resisted as best he could. So they lived, did not grieve, “You will die for sure!” - But the silence was broken. A soldier with a gun was waving. One war, the second ... Pushed to dig a grave And all: “Let’s get bread!” And in front of the pit - in the forehead! They were looking for paradise with a gun They just threw the ground In the village they are top-top. Nobody saw that. Peasant: “I won’t!” The soldier was buried He began to hide the grain. With a monument with a star. And the soldiers: “Yum-yum! And the peasants were buried Well, there must be it! “ Like cattle, no ritual. Poetry (9-11) - Honourable Mention Stop Destroying Our Home by Poppy Whittaker, England Our home is being destroyed, Just for cattle, farms, plantations. There are already enough of them, But we’re slowly running out. We are the indigenous people of Brazil, Just trying to keep the old ways, The traditions and ways of living, So stop destroying our home. Just because we don’t live like you, Doesn’t mean we are lesser. The conflict we are facing, Crushing us inside. We are the indigenous people of Brazil, Just trying to keep the old ways, The traditions and ways of living, So stop destroying our home. So stop destroying our home, We are no different from you. Art (9-11) - 1st Place Surviving Family by Anna Antonyan, Armenia Judge’s Reflections: ‘This haunting image speaks to conflict of all kinds and in all geographies. Its universality is heart-breaking.’ — Max May, CEO of Rural Arts ‘There is real skill in this work, it feels like it has been painted by someone much older, and the expression in the family’s eyes are haunting.’ — Paisley Randell, Artist & Filmmaker ‘This is a great presentation of a tragic family portrait, the eyes especially capture the haunting nature of war.’ — Cole Sternberg, Artist ‘Loss and grief. Good work of art.’ — Vasco Kretschmann, Volksbund Art (9-11) - 2nd Place A Child from Syria by Viara Pencheva, Bulgaria Viara’s Inspiration: There are many conflicts around the world that have a detrimental effect on children. Here is the story of my painting: Amina was a little Syrian girl. She had experienced the horrors of violent and bloody fighting in Damascus, in which thousands of innocent people died. In one such battle, Amina lost her mother, who died to protect her from the bullets. The little girl survived and managed to escape. Together with her grandmother she came to Bulgaria. Here they were accommodated in a special home. Amina went to school and soon found friends. Every day, however, she remembered her mother and she was very sad. One day Amina decided to paint her. She took chalks from school and went outside. She painted her mother on the asphalt and cuddled in her arms. Amina felt the warmth of her mother’s love again and she was happy. Art (9-11) - 3rd Place Lack of Education by Ziah Kim, California - United States Ziah’s Inspiration: The artwork that I made is on a boy who lives in a poor country with lack of education. He imagines a better place, a cleaner and healthier area to go to school. He imagines himself in a classroom, smiling and looking around, but the reality is the poor, dirty classroom that he comes to every day. Children with the benefit of having better education should appreciate their school and the environment because some kids really wish to have that lucky opportunity. Judge’s Reflections: ‘Very unusual understanding and presentation of the conflict. It seems that it shows another reality, a desired one. Expectation vs what it is now. A different kind of conflict – an educational one.’ — Veronika Zonabend, Founding Partner of UWC Dilijan Art (9-11) - Honourable Mention The Bread in Besieged Leningrad during World War II by Alyona Krasilova, Russia Alyona’s Inspiration: In this picture I depicted my great great grandmother and great grandmother who survived in the siege of Leningrad during World War II. I admire them for their strong character and perseverance. I didn’t get a chance to meet them in person as they both passed before I was born. World War II was a very difficult time for all people in Russia and especially to children. No family in Russia was left untouched by this war. Very few children and women participated in the field operations, but they too contributed to the victory. They did everything possible and impossible to help the soldiers. Their lives are the unheard voices of the war. Judge’s Reflections: ‘The feminist take on the unsung heroes of the War is highly commendable.’ — Vivian Huang, Freelance Artist Speech (9-11) - 1st Place Η ΔΥΝΑΜΗ ΤΗΣ ΦΩΝΗΣ / The Power of the Voice by Ioannis Zekios, Greece Πάρα πολλές φωνές που δεν μίλησαν για τον πόλεμο βρίσκονται χαμένες στο σκοτάδι.