17 October, 2017
Yaya is a Sudanese refugee and British Red Cross volunteer. My work focuses heavily on refugees and asylum seekers, an often overlooked or misunderstood form of immigration into the UK. I spend a lot of time volunteering my time and skills with local organisations and charities in the Leeds and Bradford area, getting to know people, hearing their stories and learning about the asylum system. I work closely with the British Red Cross Refugee Services team, and have recently started to teach asylum seekers a basic photography class.
I feel this image says a lot about Yaya’s character and the way he wants to be seen by the world. He is powerful, he is confident, he has been through so much in his life so far, yet he remains positive and wants to be seen and heard by the UK population.
4 August, 2017
I like this picture as it asks as many questions as it answers, and suggests the way in which second and third generations of migrant communities are creating new identities and navigating new ways of living in Britain, as well as having to overcome significant
obstacles.
29 June, 2017
In 1950 the Chinese invaded Tibet. Many Tibetans escaped across the mountains and found refuge in Europe, India and America. They can never go back to their homeland. 10 March is the Tibetan Uprising Day, marking the events of 1959 when thousands of Tibetans in Tibet protested against the illegal occupation of Tibet by the People’s Republic of China. This uprising led to severe crackdowns within Tibet and the Dalai Lama’s exile into India. On this date thousands of Tibetans and their supporters all over the world commemorate that day and show the People’s Republic of China they can’t stop the resistance movement.
4 August, 2017
Learning Gurmukhi at the Saturday School at the Guru Gobind Singh Gurdwara in Bradford.
Chosen as an acknowledgement of the importance of mother tongue languages to many migrant communities. As a Sikh once told me: “Once you lose a language you are well on the way to losing a culture.”
