Op-Comic: My home country was devastated by war. The world has moved on, but I haven’t

photo collage of a family group photo with illustrations of white flowers covering their faces

(Shayma Alshiri / For The Times)

By Shayma Alshiri

Sept. 19, 2022 3:05 AM PT

drawing of a visa and a plane. The last time I went to Yemen, I didn't it was going to be the last time.

collage of mangoes and a torn family photo. Civil war broke out in Yemen in 2015, leaving 24 million people in need of aid.

drawing of a New York ID. My family moved to the U.S. when I was two. We went to Yemen every few summers, until we didn't.

smiley face stickers on a family photo of children. My extended family in Yemen found refuge in Ethiopia, a foreign country.

Family photo by the Statue of Liberty. Being so far away, I felt guilty. The world started to forget about Yemen. I couldn't.

Flowers and doves drawn on family photos. In this Yemen, jasmine scented the streets and angels still lived on earth.

A Yemen where weddings lasted through the night, my sister got her first bad haircut, my mom wore green before her wedding.

A collage: This Yemen exists only in a broken suitcase full of photos. A Yemen to which I can only return through memories.

Shayma Alshiri is an illustrator and producer living in New York City. @shaymaalshiri

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