Since war has broken out in Syria in 2011, many Syrians have been forced to relocate to other parts of the world. Reyhanli—a Turkish city near the border of Syria—is a common destination for asylum seekers from the Syrian city of Aleppo, and its population has nearly doubled over the past 8 years. However, gaining asylum does not guarantee a safe and secure living. Many refugees continue to suffer from ongoing terrorist attacks, unemployment, and insufficient access to essential resources and facilities.
The Taiwan-Reyhanli Centre for World Citizens, designed by its founding director and principal architect Chiu Chen-yu (裘振宇), is a multi-purpose space that can be as emergency/transitional shelters for people in need, shop spaces for local artists and merchants, or communal spaces for NGOs. The materials used in its construction are mostly repurposed—for instance, the walls that make up the center were originally intended to be used to create border walls between Syria and Turkey. In this way, Chiu says, the walls that were meant to keep people apart can now bring people together.
While Chiu is not a refugee himself, he can empathize with some of the refugee’s struggles due to his own family’s experience. In an interview with the Taipei Times, he shared that his grandparents came to Taiwan as refugees from China during the 1940s, adding that “tales of the hardships and uncertainties my own grandparents endured have left a lasting impression on me and made me sensitive to the plight of refugees.” Chiu also recognizes that having a way to make a living is an important part of creating a safe living environment and supporting children.
Using his experience as an architect and a designer, Chiu worked with Syrian and Turkish women to create products to sell. The first product, which they call a Meow Meow Pouch, is a knitted pouch that is sold together with Aleppo soap. During Chiu’s presentation at Columbia, he explained that because Aleppo soap is a hard soap it can be too harsh to use directly on the skin, especially for people who are bald like himself. Therefore, by putting the soap inside the pouch and using them together, it’s soft, like “a kitty [kissing] your body.”
Moreover, each Meow Meow Pouch is completely unique. Every Meow Meow Pouch is inspired by the creator’s experiences as a refugee and the centre shares these stories through filmed interviews on the web page and YouTube Channel. For instance, the Blue Eyes Cat Pouch was made by a participant named Nesrin to represent her daughter’s beautiful blue eyes. Rayan, her blue-eyed daughter, had to be amputated after a suicide bombing took away the use of her legs, and Nesrin created the Meow Meow Pouch in her image with the hope of raising additional money to pay for medical expenses.
After the Meow Meow Pouch, the centre created a second product called the Woof Woof Scarf. The dog-shaped scarves include “all the necessary and the unnecessary details,” jokes Chiu as he shows a photo of a Woof Woof Scarf with a butthole half-hidden under the scarf’s tail. The patterns of the dogs are not as individualized as the Meow Meow Pouches—still, they feature a variety of different breeds with cute names such as meatball, sausage, and tempura. The scarf also comes in two sizes: long for adults, and short for children. And, for the sports enthusiasts in your life, there are also two versions holding a basketball and a soccer ball.
Seeing the creativity and heart that goes into the Meow Meow Pouches and Woof Woof Scarves they create is truly inspiring, and the designs always bring a smile to my face. Hopefully, by sharing the products that they’ve created—as well as the stories behind them—we really will be able to create a world without walls that is full of world citizens, just as Chiu envisions.
(Featured image via The Taiwan-Reyhanli Centre for World Citizens)
Taiwan Culture Corner 