There are hardly any pictures of Moria and the other refugee camps on the Greek island of Lesbos because media representatives are not allowed access to the camps. At the Ethnological World Museum in Vienna, a small special exhibition was on display until 11 January, showing photos taken by refugees themselves to document their lives there. They also wrote texts to accompany the pictures. Tünews INTERNATIONAL has now succeeded in obtaining the rights for a photo reportage with a selection of these pictures. The pictures were taken as part of the media project “Now You See Me Moria”: Now You See Me Moria. There are no people in the photos because tünews INTERNATIONAL respects the personal rights of refugees and could not obtain their consent.
Qutaeba, who fled Syria, writes about his pictures: “We came to Europe to live a free and decent life. We came with soaring dreams, but were brought back down to earth. I am not alone, I am with my family and all those who fled to live a good life.” Unfortunately, we cannot publish his pictures as there is currently no contact with him anymore.
Amir fled from Afghanistan. All the pictures in our selection come from him. He writes about his photos: “Dear European, imagine having to live in a tent for two years with a family of five.” What becomes of the camp when it rains is shown in these photos: “Our home is under water, can you imagine our feelings?”
A fire in September 2020 destroyed part of the Moria camp. The aftermath is also documented in a number of photographs.
Amir: “We are human beings, there is no difference between black and white here, all of us are displaced or homeless. We are not criminals. We are not animals, just homeless. You can give us hope by welcoming us. The European governments should give us a chance.” Amir has since arrived in Bosnia and is unable to continue on to the EU from there, according to the project’s coordinator.
The closing words should belong to Qutaeba: “They have not warmed our hearts, but we will not feel the frost of our loneliness. They have not touched our souls, but we will not let them empty them. They have not filled our days with happiness, but we will not grieve or live in fear. Those who do not strengthen us will not destroy us.”
Noemi, the coordinator of the project, writes on its homepage: “Many of the stories have been picked up by the international media, for which we are grateful. But we cannot stop here, we need to raise awareness about the current situation in Moria. Human rights are being violated daily, journalists and photographers are not allowed to enter the new camp. (…) Let’s make sure that no one can look away anymore by making the stories of refugees more visible.”
The names Amir and Qutaeba are not the real ones of the photographers, they were changed to protect them. Individual photos have been slightly edited to ensure the anonymity of the people.
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