People
Photography as always been a good excuse for me to encounter people, learn about them, their lives, their worries and hopes. I found much beauty and learned every time something new about them and about myself.
Conflicts
I have spent a decade of my life working in conflicts all over the world including Nepal, the Central African Republic, Israel / Palestine and Colombia. During this time I have experienced from close what victims of war suffer from and the impact violence has on their lives and livelihoods.
Syrian Refugees
In the world we are living today, 100 million people (Source UN) are displaced. This is the highest number recorded since WWII. The average displaced spends 17 years away from home.
It is estimated that 6.6 million Syrians are internally displaced, and another 4.8 million are displaced outside Syria.
Of those, 5.5 million are hosted in countries near Syria. For example, an estimated 1.5 million live in informal camps and cities with friends and relatives in Lebanon.
These images were taken on Easter Sunday, 2016, in various refugee camps on the Syrian border.
Each encounter unveiled another story of a lost home, of uncertainty, and despair but also hope…
In 2017, the exhibition ‘Stories Untold’ was shown at the World Economic Forum and the City of Geneva. The exhibition was opened by Klaus Schwab, the Chairman and Founder of the WEF and Filipo Grandi, The UN High Commissioner for Refugees
Cities and Landscapes
My professional and personal journey has brought me around the world. Thanks to that, I saw some of the most beautiful and striking cities and landscapes on this planet. Every time, it has been a stark reminder of the beauty but also the fragility of the world we live in.
Smiles
“Keep smiling, because life is a beautiful thing and there’s so much to smile about.”
Marilyn Monroe
Moments
Every moment is unique and will pass in an instant. Life is filled with countless moments, and everyone tells a story. That is what the famous photographer Henry Cartier Bresson called the ‘decisive moment’: If we don’t live every moment now, we never will.
Africa
I have worked for years in Africa and always loved the diversity, the warmth of people and the often stark differences between the different countries. It’s not just a continent, it is a universe in itself.
India - Lost in Space and Mind
Since 2001, I have been working with the Charity ‘The Banyan’, which helps mentally destitute individuals abandoned in the streets. At times, they just run away from home; they are abandoned by their families or get lost. The Banyan treats them, recovers them from the street and re-integrates them into the families. It is one of the most impressive organisations I have known, giving a voice to the voiceless.
Refugee Camps (Aida, Shu’fat and Arroub)
From 2012 to 2014, I worked in the Middle East in refugee camps for the UN. I always described refugee camps as places of question marks. The people here have been uprooted along the way, and if not them, their parents or grandparents.
Until today, the Palestine refugee question has not been resolved, and therefore, questions will stay unanswered; sadly, these crowded places will continue to exist.
