“Ramla and the Desert is a fairytale-style story that came out of me trying to emotionally process, rationalize, and make sense of desert disappearances.”
@iamnehal
“It was a friend of mine, a while ago, who had said to me that fairy tales emerged out of trauma — and this is a fairy tale-like story that [emerged] out of trauma,” Nehal explains. “Not my own, but a traumatic event that keeps on happening to people over and over again.”
“I've been researching desert borders and became aware of the scale of migrants and refugees disappearing in the Sahara. If you can't count people, you don't have to account for them. It's a documented border control strategy which weaponizes the desert to disappear people trying to cross into other countries.”
“I was finding out all of this information and trying to make sense of it,” she shares. “And then the war in Sudan broke out, and what had been this academic study of testimony and documenting and other people became really, really personal. I didn't know how to process it… and to be honest, I still don't.”
“The hope of [Ramla and the Desert] is that it draws attention to the plight of migrants in the Sahara, which also gives people a way to contend with grief and loss.”
“Ramla and the Desert” is part of the Greenhouse Festival at Tarragon Theatre in Toronto. Festival passes and tickets for the 2025/26 season are available for: Tuesday, Jan. 27, Thursday, Jan. 29, and Saturday, Jan. 31. For more information, visit
@tarragontheatreto ’s website!
Written and produced by Nehal El-Hadi (
@iamnehal )
Directed by Mabel Wonnacott (
@mabelwonnacott )
Puppet design and animation by Heather Piper (
@piedpiperpuppets )
Music by Waleed Abdulhamid (
@waleedkushafrojazz )
Watch "Borders, Portals, and Speculative Fiction with Nehal El-Hadi" on YouTube to learn about "Ramla and the Desert" and other ongoing projects! This short segment is part of Nehal's GEEX Talks episode, accessible in the GEEX Talks Subscriber Archive.
➜ Watch Nehal El-Hadi’s GEEX Shorts episode now! Link in bio.
![“Ramla and the Desert is a fairytale-style story that came out of me trying to emotionally process, rationalize, and make sense of desert disappearances.” @iamnehal“It was a friend of mine, a while ago, who had said to me that fairy tales emerged out of trauma — and this is a fairy tale-like story that [emerged] out of trauma,” Nehal explains. “Not my own, but a traumatic event that keeps on happening to people over and over again.”“I've been researching desert borders and became aware of the scale of migrants and refugees disappearing in the Sahara. If you can't count people, you don't have to account for them. It's a documented border control strategy which weaponizes the desert to disappear people trying to cross into other countries.”“I was finding out all of this information and trying to make sense of it,” she shares. “And then the war in Sudan broke out, and what had been this academic study of testimony and documenting and other people became really, really personal. I didn't know how to process it… and to be honest, I still don't.”“The hope of [Ramla and the Desert] is that it draws attention to the plight of migrants in the Sahara, which also gives people a way to contend with grief and loss.”“Ramla and the Desert” is part of the Greenhouse Festival at Tarragon Theatre in Toronto. Festival passes and tickets for the 2025/26 season are available for: Tuesday, Jan. 27, Thursday, Jan. 29, and Saturday, Jan. 31. For more information, visit @tarragontheatreto’s website!Written and produced by Nehal El-Hadi (@iamnehal)Directed by Mabel Wonnacott (@mabelwonnacott)Puppet design and animation by Heather Piper (@piedpiperpuppets)Music by Waleed Abdulhamid (@waleedkushafrojazz)Watch "Borders, Portals, and Speculative Fiction with Nehal El-Hadi" on YouTube to learn about "Ramla and the Desert" and other ongoing projects! This short segment is part of Nehal's GEEX Talks episode, accessible in the GEEX Talks Subscriber Archive. Watch Nehal El-Hadi’s GEEX Shorts episode now! Link in bio.](https://sp1.picnob.com/p/pt_6766374341271216354932_0_dc24516f43df7f3d1a9f1e2b3da66b40.jpg?o=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&h=6400abd0d90bff4e83ff26a3c09af68e)
