Post square 013113 ~ Because He Had To Leave

In the summer of 2011 Javed Ahmadi, age 19, left his home in Helmand province to escape being kidnapped by the Taliban. He was headed for Sweden where his cousin, Zia, was waiting for him. He left behind his wife and baby daughter with the plans that he would bring them to Sweden, too.

A year and a half later, he had made it only as far as a small fishing village on the Aegean Sea. There, his smuggler crowded him onto a 30-foot wooden fishing boat with 22 other refugees. Just before leaving the shore, Javed borrowed a cell phone and called his father to ask him to pray for his safe arrival.

Just minutes after leaving the harbor, the small boat started taking on water. Within an hour it had nearly sunk.
According to the one survivor, when the boat capsized, Javed tried to rescue child. His body was found on the shore of the Greek island of Lesvos.

Zia found out about Javed's death through a television clip. He flew to Lesvos to identify Javed's body and arranged to have it transported back to Kabul so that his cousin could be buried in the family graveyard.

This drawing I did with the intention of being less obsessive and more expressive. Colored pencil on bristol.