Children are often unjustly affected by conflict, and for this very reason UAE resident Kabul Wazir travels to northern Pakistan regularly to give them assistance under the Children of War initiative he established in 2009.
His family originates from this region, so he has an affinity with the people here. Greater Manchester–born Wazir, says, “Children hold a special place in my heart. [They] are the future and it is important that they are looked after.”
The charity provides relief to homeless, orphaned and impoverished children in whatever capacity is most needed — water, food, clothing, education or shelter.
He says that many UAE residents are helping this initiative and can follow its events via its Facebook page.
Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees put the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Pakistan at around 747,498 in January. The recently formed arts and photography wing of Pakistan Association Dubai (PAD) is raising funds to assist IDPs through an exhibition of work by expatriate Pakistanis.
Nazar Haidri and Irfan Mirza are the first to feature in a series of UAE-based events that will focus on the creative talents of Pakistanis abroad. Karachi-born Mirza experiments with abstract, conceptual, figurative and calligraphy art forms, using oil paint and acrylic. Inspired by nature and spirituality, natural global disasters and wars influence him to create imageries that reflect the brutal conditions of humankind — yet there is a thread of hope woven into his artwork.
For Haidri, retirement led to rekindling an old passion. One of the first graduates of the Arts Council of Pakistan in the 1960s, he combines music and painting in his work, many which feature dancing and musical instruments including sitar, tabla, shahnai, tanpura and sarangi.
He counts Picasso’s cubist paintings among his inspirations. “Even though I use cubism techniques in my paintings, I still manage to maintain the form,” says Haidri.
Today is the last day for viewing. Visit www.pad.ae.
