'My life as a Refugee’ Photography Exhibition
JRS Europe proudly presents the ‘My life as a Refugee’ photography exhibition.The exhibition displays photographs taken by refugees from five different European countries showing the reality of their lives from their own perspectives.
Brussels, 21 November 2012 - JRS Europe proudly presents the ‘My life as a Refugee’ photography exhibition.The exhibition displays photographs taken by refugees from five different European countries showing the reality of their lives from their own perspectives.From the 27th – 30th November, JRS will be exhibiting the collection of 20 photographs in the European Parliament, hosted by Vice President Dr László Surján.
We welcome anyone with credentials for entering the Parliament to join us on the 27th November for the official opening of the exhibition at 17.30 at the exhibition area Space Escalator.
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In April, JRS began recruiting refugees in Italy, Malta, Portugal, Romania and the United Kingdom to take part in a project to document the lives of asylum seekers from their own unique perspective. In collaboration with local photographers, and with organisations such as Fotosynthesis and Photo Voice very generously donating cameras, we began courses in photography for refugees. The photographers were recruited as volunteer trainers to give refugees a basic education and to focus on the coherence of one European exhibition.
The core idea was instead of taking photos of refugees, the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) gave them the camera with the opportunity to show the world through their lens. This photo exhibition displays photographs taken by refugees from their very own perspectives, with the words they wanted to accompany them.
“A short photography course is a way to interact, to meet new people. To leave our everyday worries behind. It is a chance to think, to laugh and to use our imagination in a positive way” Bilal, Italy
Throughout the summer the various groups detailed their lives through a lens and compiled over 500 individual snapshots of life as a refugee in Europe. Finally in early September we began to see the results as the images began pouring in from all corners of Europe.
The JRS European regional office also recruited volunteer photographers João M. Gil and Karim Abraheem for the final photo selection, captioning, set-up and organization of the exhibition in the European Parliament.
The result is a very personal insight into the lives of refugees in Europe and how they view life in five European countries where they have come to seek protection and assistance.
