Khadija shared. “I’d been writing letters since my younger days. In school, we used to exchanged paper messages along with DIY small crafts. It was only recently that I discovered that there is a world out there dedicated for exchanging paper correspondence they called Penpalling,” she shared.
Over time, she learned a lot about the art of letters including the tools used. She decided to embark on a challenge of writing 100 paper letters sending it to people who meant something to her. She didn’t realise that the small movement she started will pick up online. From her challenge, a lot of written letters enthusiasts joined her on the challenge and became a hashtag community on Twitter.
The popularity of her project pushed her to continue and think of other means to re-introduce letter writing to young people.
Her plans include introducing the art of writing paper messages more broadly through more workshops, and she is also interested in starting a business for arts and handicrafts of all kinds.
Aziza al Ramahi, a 19-year-old student, is also a fan of making paper letters. She believes that the impact of receiving a concrete paper message has a different and distinctive effect on the feeling compared to a message you may receive via your mobile phone in milliseconds.”The speed of this world sometimes frightens me. I find comfort in letter writing. It is reassuring that while everything around us changes so fast, there are still a few things we can hold on to,” she shared. Although getting the outside appearance right is important to Aziza, she shared that all the embellishments fall in comparison to the content of the letter. She said that as an artist, it is fun to decorate the envelopes with stickers and other things like dried leaves or flowers.”The letter becomes even more personalised with these little trinkets,” she said. For Aziza, receiving a paper message is unmatched.
“I meditate on the details of the messages I receive. They make me take a moment to pause and centre my attention on something tangible, reassuring. It’s amazing to be able to imagine the amount of effort made as well as what the writer is implying. I really like to be able to touch the letters and savour the moment,” she said.
“I hope people will rediscover the joys of writing paper messages. While its existence is threatened now, there is still hope that it can be revived. I hope that people will feel the splendour of this art and I hope it will be given a chance to live again,” she said.
BY RUQAYA AL KINDI
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