Millions of Syrian families are now refugees seeking asylum, and they are being rejected due to prejudice and fear.
Politics, media coverage, and xenophobia all contribute to the warped perception that refugees are "invading" host countries.
The goal of this student project was to convince people around the world to
abandon their prejudice and support the influx of Syrian refugees into their
countries and communities.
In order to bypass these preconceived judgments, we decided to tell a story of
compassion and acceptance through use of a metaphor that translates easily
across the various languages and cultures of Europe and of the world.
Our solution was to create an allegory that addresses the Syrian Refugee Crisis on a human level.
Google will partner with Save the Children to launch a Doodle that leads users to a microsite featuring the digital book “The Gracious Garden”— which can be read in any language thanks to Google Translate.
The story follows a bud in search of a garden as he struggles with fatigue, discrimination, rejection, isolation, and loss of self-worth. The final page draws a parallel to the circumstances refugees face, reminding the reader that we are all equal in our humanity, and deserving of empathy.
The digital book can be shared through email or social media, and donors contributing $20 or more will be thanked with a hard copy, so the bud’s story can continue inspiring compassion for years to come.