Nasouh, a poet and artist, discusses his life and work

The Resident Engagement Team recently had an opportunity to interview Nasouh, a resident of Clann, about his life and work.

Nasouh is an Irish-based poet and artist originally from Syria. His poems are featured in the Dubylon anthology curated by the International Language Service.

His arts exhibitions include, ‘Storytelling with Portraits’ in the Ballybough Community centre, as well as in the local library as part of the Five Lamps Festival, and ‘A Second Home’ in Cloud Café.

When his son moved to Ireland in 2009 to study, Nasouh never imagined he and his wife would make the same journey to Europe. After the Syrian civil war broke out, Nasouh’s wife, Falak, continued to work as a paediatrician. Nasouh tells us, “She worked in a children and women’s centre in the city and still had to go to and from work every day. Nasouh recalls how the couple’s son regularly called from Ireland, worried about their safety.“

In 2014, Nasouh’s son suggested they apply for a new sponsorship programme for the families of Syrian nationals living in Ireland. The Government had set up the Syrian Humanitarian Admission Programme in March 2014, a once-off private sponsorship scheme in response to the Syrian crisis.

Nasouh and his wife were reluctant to leave Damascus at first. They had visited their son twice in Dublin and Cork but never imagined moving to western Europe. Eventually, their son convinced them to “give Ireland a try”.

They arrived in Dublin in May 2015 and moved in with their son. “For nine months I couldn’t speak to anyone,” says Nasouh. “I had no English and felt so lonely. I had lost my connection with my friends and family. It was not a good time.”

Before moving to Ireland, Nasouh had no interest in art. His life in Damascus was taken up with work and the stress and anxiety of living through Syria’s civil war. It was only when he relocated to Dublin that he decided to pick up a paintbrush for the first time.

He was attending the open day at Ballybough Community Centre, where he took English-language classes, when he was introduced to an artist, Anne Walsh.

“I don’t know why I asked her to teach me, maybe I was joking. But she said yes and came to my house. She brought everything, the canvas, the colours, brushes and many boxes.”

After three classes, Nasouh started teaching himself techniques from a book Walsh gave him. “She encouraged me a lot and I started to like it. I forget everything when I paint; it has become very important for my life.”

After nine months in the city, Nasouh started attending English-language classes in Warrenmount Community Education Centre in Dublin 8. When the couple moved to Marino, he continued his English-language classes at Ballybough Community Centre.

It was in the Ballybough centre that Nasouh met Peter Sheekey – a man he says transformed his life in Ireland. Sheekey, founder of the Intercultural Language Service in Dublin, which supported people like Nasouh through language training, social orientation and community-based, intercultural activities.

“The centre had lots of students of many nationalities and lots of volunteers,” says Nasouh. “Peter had made a course about storytelling, one person from Ireland and one student from another country would come together and speak about their culture.

“I started studying hard and it became really important. It was like therapy for me. I was able to meet lots of people, get to know the culture in Ireland and speak about how I felt.”

Slowly but surely, Nasouh became more comfortable speaking English and developed a fluency in a language he never could have imagined speaking a few years previously. His wife had learned basic English through her medical studies, but Nasouh spoke only Arabic and French before coming to Ireland. “In Warrenmount, I learned some English words, but in Ballybough there was grammar, there were stories and conversations.

Nasouh’s exhibitions — including My Picture; My Story and A Second Home — seem to combine personal migration history with affectionate portrayals of Dublin landmarks like the Ha’penny Bridge, Five Lamps, and Poolbeg Chimneys.

Nasouh dreams of returning to Syria someday. “It’s my history. I have memories under every stone in Damascus. That city is my passion.” However, he has grown to love Dublin. “The weather here is cold, but the people are warm. It’s always fresh; there’s no pollution. he adds that he is proud of himself and his wife. “We have integrated well and feel connected. We celebrate the holidays with Irish friends.