Our Vision
Our association has chosen the name of a flower known for its resistance, resilience and therapeutic virtues: Artemisia.
Our vision is of a sustainable world where injustice and inequality have no place, and where human communities are equipped with tools and institutions to protect their rights and freedoms, as well as their physical and psychological integrity, without prejudice to any social, religious, gender or ethno-linguistic affiliation or assignment.
Faced with the persistence of wars and endemic crises, the massive displacement of civilian populations and the destruction of ecosystems of which human societies are an integral part, Artemisia is concerned about what the omnipresence of collective traumas, visible or invisible, and transmitted from generation to generation, could produce on our common future.
We believe that human communities impacted by violence and war should be able to benefit from specific, priority support to rapidly access living conditions that promote a dignified life, itself enabled by mutual solidarity, individual participation and respect for the environment on which these communities depend. Artemisia’s action is therefore aimed at empowering local communities.
We believe that peace and justice can only result from a social ecology that sees care and respect in the context of a symbiotic relationship between human beings and nature: for Artemisia, repairing and restoring human communities means first and foremost caring for their living space, rather than simply providing them with the material and food resources they need to survive.
Artemisia’s objectives are therefore at the crossroads of several sectors: Protection (social and environmental), Education and Shelter (rehabilitation of housing and infrastructure). Our mission focus on Education, Awareness-raising and Mental Health & Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) for affected individuals and communities, the restoration of natural areas harmed or destroyed by conflict and violence, and the rehabilitation of damaged or defecting housing and infrastructure.
Where ?
We come from and are connected to the community of Suwayda, located in southern Syria. This rocky region on the edge of the desert, poor in mineral resources, has been isolated and neglected for decades, as the central government has deliberately chosen to punish it for its historical reluctance to be loyal to it. Rationed in water and electricity, prevented from digging wells, suffering from a disastrous economy and infrastructure, plundered for years by armed gangs, Suwayda was unable to develop as it should have. In addition, the uncontrolled felling of trees have had a catastrophic impact on the ecosystem of the region, whose economy relies heavily on agriculture, the cultivation of olives and fruit trees.
Our Objectives
The project of founding a NGO was born during the winter of 2023-2024. Artemisia is the result of observations made in the course of previous volunteering experiences and social commitments, but also of our life experiences within the communities to which we belong. Over the past two years, we’ve been working on this association project, thinking about the type of intervention that would get a pass from the former Syrian authorities. The Assad regime had to see this as neither a threat nor a means of embezzling money, which seemed almost impossible to achieve.
Conditions have changed. While the future remains uncertain, a window of opportunity has opened. Our association would focus on the recovery of communities impacted by decades of instability, focusing on water supply and reforestation, as well as capacity building and the promotion of local autonomy.
The first phase of our project therefore involves a 3-6 month exploratory mission to map the stakeholders, assess their needs and analyze ways of implementing humanitarian action in close collaboration with local communities. The main part of this first mission will involve meeting experts (farmers and agronomists, hydrologists/hydrographers, geologists, etc.), as well as members of the local civil administration, activists and community leaders, to assess the relevance and feasibility of our associative project on site.
Our project begins tomorrow !
Our Values
AUTONOMY
RESILIENCE
DIGNITY
FREEDOM
SUSTAINABILITY
Who we are ?
I’m Khuzama. I was born in Syria, grew up in Suwayda, and began my adult life in Damascus. I’m an architect by training, a humanitarian by profession, but my passion lies in historical heritage and old stones, music and books.
My name is Cédric. Born in France to a German mother and a French father, I grew up in eastern France, and began my adult life between Lille and Paris. I studied history, but soon gave myself body and soul to political struggles against borders, racism and state violence. I became an internationalist through solidarity with Palestine, before working with asylum seekers, and then switching to humanitarian work. I love social photography and black-and-white drawing.
I am Joel. I spent most of my adult life in Paris, where I was actively involved in fighting for social justice beside my work as an administrative assistant for the Ministry of Education. Then I moved back to the countryside, east of France, to get involved in environmental struggles. Professionally, I specialized in accounting, and now work for several environmental associations.
How to support us ?
💸CROWDFUNDING 💸
To get our project off the ground, we absolutely need your help! No adventure can begin without the trust and support of those closest to us!