"On va s'arranger" with Première Urgence Internationale for refugees in Lebanon
The context in Lebanon
Since 2011, 1.5 million Syrians have been added to the 300,000 Palestinian refugees already in Lebanon. The country's population has increased by 25%. This population influx is putting major pressure on Lebanon's infrastructures, which are already weakened by a long-lasting political crisis.
Première Urgence Internationale provides emergency aid to the populations affected by this prolonged humanitarian crisis. Here, the NGO is developing projects to improve access to healthcare for vulnerable populations. The teams are also helping to meet needs in the areas of housing, food security, protection and the rehabilitation of infrastructure for host and refugee populations.
Artists in the field
Première Urgence Internationale asked The Ink Link to go to the field and produce a cartoon report on the management of this migratory crisis for the European public. Pozla, a cartoonist, and Wilfrid Lupano, a scriptwriter, both responded to the challenge. Pozla's lively, spontaneous style makes it possible to use drawings on site as a mediation tool to gather information. Our two artists were able to go with the local PUI teams and meet refugees and Lebanese people.
Pozla tells us:
What struck me during our trip and our encounters was the power of drawing. Drawing is a magical tool for creating links and trust, and for speaking openly. The simple act of sitting down with these families, who are scarcely considered by society, asking them to tell their story and taking an interest in it, drawing their portrait, drawing with the children, is to give them a little recognition, value and esteem, which the families give back to us ten times.
I remember an incredible story told by a Kurdish family about their journey to cross the border, which was told after 30 minutes of discussion. The NGO team was stunned, they had been following this family for 5 years without knowing this story!
The portraits drawn during discussions with the families also serve to document the future comic strip. The testimonies are the essence of the future story, they allow us to get as close as possible to reality.
On a visit to one of the camps, the artists were asked to paint a fresco on the school wall. And here's the result!
Back in France, the artists developed a quirky, original story that surprises and hooks the reader. It presents the situation of the refugees and the Lebanese, and highlights the actions of the NGO and the local authorities. Without accusing, it opens the door to new ways of welcoming people.
"On va s'arranger" in Topo magazine
The final comic strip has 32 pages. It has been translated into Arabic and is printed and distributed by Première Urgence Internationale in Lebanon via their local health centers.
In summer 2021, it was published in two parts, in issues 30 and 31 of the Topo magazine.
A comic strip exhibition
The overall project has been turned into an exhibition entitled "On va s'arranger - Refuge au pays du cèdre", which presents the original drawings produced, Pozla's logbook and interviews with the teams and authors.
It was presented at the Espace Niemeyer in Paris from 5 to 30 December 2019 and can be rented. Contact us now!
This comic book project was made possible by the support of the European Union, through the Syria Crisis Trust Fund (MADAD / EUTF), as part of a health project in Lebanon entrusted to a consortium of NGOs led by International Medical Corps and including Première Urgence Internationale.