Ammon News - Decorating the narrow alleys of Jordan's Baqa'a Palestinian refugee camp, the mural is conspicuous, while for the artist behind it, its meaning is more than decorations.

Kahlili Gaith, 55, known as the "painter of refugees" inside the camp, has been contributing all his creativity and passion to the issue of Palestinian refugees for decades.

"I record the Palestinian refugees' life through art because I consider it as part of the Palestinian struggle and a witness to Palestinian people's suffering," Gaith told Xinhua on the occasion of the World Refugee Day.

Since Gaith was forced to flee to Jordan when he was one year old, he has been living in the Baqa'a refugee camp, which accommodates Palestinian refugees and displaced people after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Noting that he is motivated by the pain and oppression the refugees suffer, he regards his paintbrush as a "rifle" for resistance and extended his canvas to murals in the camp.

"Art must also be showcased to the people in the streets, and you must let people know about your cause," Gaith said.

He explained that murals could deliver his message to the visitors about the site's identity as a refugee camp, where many refugees are struggling to survive.

At the same time, it would remind people inside the refugee camp, especially the children, not to forget their identity and history, and the Palestinian issue has not been resolved yet.

"The United States and other follower countries tried many times to prevent us from thinking about our rights to return home, while they tried to make our identity melt into the hosting communities," said Gaith, who also holds a degree in information technology from the University of Jordan.

He said that this world should not only exhibit the pictures and sounds made by Western powers.

For this reason, when he was painting the mural recently, he posted it on social media and taught the refugee children art and history lessons, asking them not to forget the way back home.

One of his artworks, hanging at his cramped studio, depicts an elderly refugee wearing a traditional Palestinian headscarf and leaning on a cane, struggling but sticking on his way home.

"We kept the keys with us as a symbol of the rights to return. I drew the key in this painting as a heavy item because the price of return is high and needs sacrifices," Gaith said.

"I will stop drawing when we return to our homeland Palestine," Gaith added.

*Xinhua