'Little Picasso' draws admiration in camp

BELGRADE, SERBIA - Farhad Nouri is known among migrants as Little Picasso.

The 10-year-old from Afghanistan, who is stranded in Serbia with his parents and two younger brothers, has earned his nickname because he knows how to draw and he loves Pablo Picasso.

"One day I will draw him too," Nouri said of the Spanish artist.

For now, Nouri's drawing pad includes portraits of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, actress Angelina Jolie, artist Salvador Dali and Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic.

His talent has earned Nouri the status of a local celebrity. He recently met actor Mandy Patinkin, who works with refugees with the International Rescue Committee, and who has urged United States President Donald Trump to be more welcoming to people displaced from war-torn countries.

"Merkel maybe can do something to open the border," Nouri said in English, which he has learned over the year since he fled war and poverty in his home country.

Nouri also likes to draw portraits of his family and friends, fairy-tale castles, nature or anything else that comes to mind. Painting, he said, has helped during the flight.

"I was in Turkey, I was in Greece," Nouri said of the trip. "Here in the camp I like my painting, I like drawing my feelings and faces."

The Nouri family is among several thousand migrants who have been stuck in Serbia amid closed borders and mounting anti-migrant sentiments.

Nouri said his family would like to go to Switzerland or the US. Memories of the family home in Afghanistan have been blurred, he said.

"I remember the door when we were going away, I remember that day," he said. "When I think (hard) I can remember something."

Nouri said he plays with other children in the camp and attends Serbian language classes during the day. He usually draws at night, in his bed, while it is quiet outside.

"I teach myself. Sometimes I see from the videos, on YouTube, and I learn," he said.

Nouri said he hopes to become a painter and photographer, and will play guitar.