Christmas is the time of year when we tell the story of a refugee family fleeing through the night to escape an oppressive regime.
It’s also the time of year when many refugee families are fleeing through the night to escape oppressive regimes.
In fact, that’s true all year round.
Some things have changed over the last 2000 years, other things… not so much. Which can leave us feeling kind of hypocritical telling the story of one refugee family, while we ignore the plight of thousands of others.
These four cards have been specially designed by four top artists and illustrators. Each is a limited edition work of art in it’s own right, and each in its own way gives a simple but compelling take on an aspect of the nativity story.
Profits from the sales of the cards will be handed over to charities that support refugees.
The issue
There are more than 70 million refugees in the world. A number that is growing by tens of thousands every day. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, more than half of the world’s refugees are children.
Many of these kids have already witnessed the sort of horrors most of us would never want to imagine. They’ve seen men emerge from buildings with bloody blades. They’ve slept fitfully in makeshift camps and longed for the simple comforts of a warm and safe home. They’ve seen soldiers acting out brutal orders. Many more of them will never see their families again.
Thousands of children around the world know what it is to flee in darkness, in fear of their lives, often becoming separated from their families and love ones. And having fled, they are still often unsafe, in danger of becoming the prey of abusers, of being trafficked, or of becoming child soldiers.
You can help refugee charities make a difference by buying these cards, as well as raising awareness of the issue among the people you send them to.
The artists
Dean Rankine is an Australian artist who draws for a range of publishers, including the Simpsons comics. This is his subversive take on one of the classic Christmas images.
Steve Beckett is a cartoonist whose work appears regularly in the Beano and other comics. His stark drawing is a reminder of the excuses that are used to cover up atrocities.
Stu McLellan is a sought after artist and illustrator with a highly detailed but subtle and whimsical style. Here he finds a home for Mary’s ‘magnificat’ song in a contemporary refugee camp.
Siku is the celebrated Manga artist who created ‘The Manga Bible’ among various other works. Here he offers a compelling reminder of one of the key Christmas stories.
The art
The charity
The first profits from this project will be donated to Safe Passage UK which works with child refugees. So far Safe Passage have helped more than 1800 children.
simonjcross.com 