Grain + Syrian Refugee, Near Zahle, Lebanon, 2019

When I began using film almost 25 years ago, grain was an enemy. Now I embrace the clusters of silver particles and enlarge an image extensively to see them!

Another day in the darkroom with her negative being printed first. The actual image is a bit further from her but it felt right to amplify her features, to showcase her strength up close. She is a Syrian girl forced to live in Lebanon, with her family doing what it can to survive. It was and is a privilege to have made her portrait, and I hope that these images help carry her message further.

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Migrants + Garbage Dump, New Delhi, India, April of 2015

]Earlier this year on my first day in India I walked from the hotel to the Humana People to People India HQ a few kilometers away. On my way I noticed a camp within a garbage dump and knew that the most amazing faces were inside. So I continued to the HQ for my first meeting with the team.

A few weeks later I returned to the city to reorganize and had a day or two to roam around. The good people at the foundation volunteered their time to be with me, and over two sessions we visited the camp. The reception we received was both warm and open. They immediately allowed us the opportunity to make portraits, and we set up to do so.

In the middle of the garbage, with the scent of waste all around, we worked with the children for over an hour. Some adults stepped forth to have their portrait made. During one session a man approached us to ask about our intentions. He happened to be working for the camp, trying to organize the families and provide them with the chance to achieve certain rights denied their community as migrants. We had a great conversation, as he approved of our work.

Some people may wonder, where is the environment in these portraits? 

My preference is to make their portraits without including the garbage strewn all about, without showing the endless stream of flies all about their faces. Perhaps it's more appropriate to do so, but this has been the way for me since the first portraits were made in Lebanon… right or wrong.

The next image will show the scene as it was.

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Note: These images were taken by the team of HPPI as the portraits were be made, with a Sony RX100M2.

Girl + Refugee, Uttar Pradesh, India, November, 2013

Next to our host's village sits a small community of refugees from the recent conflicts in Uttar Pradesh, India. The land has been provided to them by our host, temporarily and soon to be permanent.

We arrived early in the morning and immediately set up the camera next to this beautiful pond. The girls were given the opportunity to go first and without much hesitation they did so, in spite of the dozens of men gathered to watch. We did our best to remove anyone from the girls' direct line of view, nonetheless onlookers came by the dozens as usual.

The homes constructed at this time are made of simple wooden structures and plastic sheets. Just in the time we were there four such structures were put up right behind this pond alone. The children of the camp live a precarious life, on the outskirts of the village, and do their best to help their parents with the day to day.

Our hosts for example have provided their home as a place for one family to sell vegetables, and one girl arrives early every morning to do so. She sweeps the floor from the previous day's activity and sets up her temporary stand so neatly. The villagers do their best to buy from her in order to support the family. This was all done without placing too much attention on the self, an incredible set of circumstances to witness.

halim.ina@gmail.com
Halim Ina Photography

Girl + Refugee, Uttar Pradesh, India, December 1, 2013

On this morning we visited a small camp located near Kairana, Uttar Pradesh. An interesting description of this place is included below, and is in line with my observations of the area. There is something quite peaceful, serene regarding the landscape… yet the places of our visits were reminders that even such serenity can be disturbed by the hand of Man.

Most recently violence has erupted in Uttar Pradesh, forcing this young girl and her community to find shelter elsewhere. The villagers in this region have given their land to the refugees, have allowed them to build temporary structures and have also permanently signed over certain pieces of land over to the families for permanent homes.

Government action is nonexistent, but good people from all over the country are doing their best to ease the suffering and pain. Toilets have been built, quilts have been provided, building materials have been shared and most importantly a warm welcome has been extended.

I hope that such tensions ease and that this young girl can return to her home one day.

According to Wikipedia:

During the Medieval period, Mughal Emperor Jahangir visited this place and has given a vibrant description in his autobiography, Tuzuk-e-jahangiri.

The Emperor said, "On Sunday, the 16th, I marched from Delhi, and on Friday, the 21st, halted in the pargana of Kairana. This pargana is the native place of Muqarrab Khan. Its climate is equable and its soil good. Muqarrab made buildings and gardens there. As I had often heard praise of his garden, I wished much to see it. On Saturday, the 22nd, I and my ladies were much pleased in going around it. Truly, it is a very fine and enjoyable garden. Within a masonry (pukhta, pucca) wall, flowerbeds have been laid out to the extent of 140 bighas. In the middle of the garden, he has constructed a pond, in length 220 yards, and in breadth 200 yards. In the middle of the pond is a miih-tiib terrace (for use in moonlight) 22 yards square. There is no kind of tree belonging to a warm or cold climate that is not to be found in it. Of fruit-bearing trees belonging to Persia, I saw green pistachio trees and cypresses of graceful form, such as I have never seen before. I ordered the cypresses to be counted, and they came to 300. All round the pond, suitable buildings have been begun and are in progress."

halim.ina@gmail.com
Halim Ina Photography