PESHAWAR, June 21: Paintings and handicrafts made by young Afghan artists were put on display to mark the World Refugee Day here on Saturday.

The theme of the exhibition, organized by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), was “Afghan Youth”.

Talking to Dawn one of the organizers of the event Maryam said :”Last year we displayed handicrafts made by the Afghan women who worked in vocational centres in the refugee camps. This year we wanted to

exhibit the works of the Afghan youth to encourage their creativity and artistic skills.”

She said that some NGOs were helping Afghan youth to learn different skills so that they could generate income for themselves. These organisations had also participated in the exhibition, she added.

Paintings and pencil sketches made by Afghan children, who studied in schools in different refugee camps, depicted the life away from Afghanistan. The artists who participated in the event came from Bagzai, Asgharo, Kotkari, Shalman and Barkali refugee camps.

Maraghana, a young female artist, who left Afghanistan during the Taliban rule, also exhibited her oil painting “The statue of standing Buddha”.

“We teach young Afghan girls and boys how to draw and paint; but we need funds to provide IT education to the poor,” the director of Afghan youth network told Dawn

“The exhibition would be helpful to make the youth aware of all the community development programmes run for the rehabilitation, empowerment and education of Afghan youth,” said a young Afghan boy present at the exhibition.