What We Remember Will Be Saved

June 5, 2023
In this poignant account, journalist Saldaña (A Country Between) profiles refugees scattered across Europe and the Middle East, focusing on the objects and traditions they carried with them when they fled their homes in Syria and Iraq. Hana, a mother in her 40s living in Jordan, has kept a traditional dress called a shal, embroidering it with scenes from life in Qaraqosh, her Iraqi hometown. After meeting Hana, Saldaña travels to Qaraqosh, which turns out to be a far cry from the beautiful landscape on Hana’s dress. ­In 2014, ISIS drove away most of the town’s 50,000 residents, and over the ensuing years of abandonment many buildings were damaged. In Istanbul, the author meets Ferhad, a guitarist from Al-Hasakeh, Syria, who wants to preserve the Kurdish songs of his childhood. He and his friend Hozan have formed a band called Danûk, named after an annual tradition back home when the village women boiled bulgur for hours and the children would gather to listen to stories and songs as they waited to eat. Saldaña’s narrative exudes empathy and offers hope, showing how “a lost neighborhood can be salvaged in a song and that an entire city can be carried in a dress.” It’s a worthy testament to the resilience of refugees.