From the January 9th, 2004San Francisco Chronicle:

' River of Words' art and poetry on display at Crissy Field
Kathleen Sullivan Friday, January 9, 2004

In the drawing, a small child wearing ragged clothes stands in a pile of rubble near a home gutted by bombs. It was the image 14-year-old Hayatullah Haidari, an Afghan refugee living in a camp in Quetta, Pakistan, submitted last year to an international art and poetry contest for young people.

Above the child's head, written in beautiful script, is a message: I want peace.
The image is one of more than 50 drawings, paintings, photographs and poems selected in 2003 as finalists and grand-prize winners in the "River of Words" contest, an annual competition designed to promote literacy, the arts and environmental awareness.

The images and poetry will be on display starting Saturday at the Crissy Field Center.
The "River of Words Exhibition'' includes artwork and poetry from children around the world, including some from California. One of the poems in the exhibit was written by Celia La Luz, a student at Lowell High School.
In "Return,'' she described her father's longing for his native Puerto Rico.

Take me to the place
where the stars do not hide timidly
ashamed of their beauty
Where the smells that rise from the earth guide me
Guide me home to the forest
Where I can find myself again
hidden in the leaves

The contest and traveling exhibition is a project of River of Words, a nonprofit group based in Berkeley. Pamela Michael, who co-founded the group with poet Robert Hass in 1995, described the exhibit as a "big, giant dose of hope for the future.''
"This is the natural world as seen through the eyes of children,'' said Michael, who is the executive director of the group. "It presents another view of young people. Most youth get in the news for their flaws or bad habits or mistakes. This exhibit gives a really different view of what youth are thinking about and doing."

For those who would like to learn more about the young Afghan refugees who have participated in the contest in recent years, the Crissy Field Center is also hosting a special presentation by Michael and Tamim Ansary, author of the critically acclaimed memoir, "West of Kabul, East of New York.''

Michael and Ansary will present "From Kabul to San Francisco: The Art of Refugee Children,'' a lecture and slide show to introduce visitors to the lives of the Afghan kids, who first found out about the contest by reading about it in "Ranger Rick,'' an environmental magazine for kids published by the National Wildlife Federation.
The slide show and lecture will take place 3 to 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 24. The presentation and exhibition are free.

The exhibit will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesdays through Sundays in the Gathering Room at Crissy Field Center, 603 Mason St. (at Halleck St.) in the Presidio. The exhibit will be on display until March 31.
For more information on Crissy Field Center call (415) 561-7690, or visit www.crissyfield.org.