Young Syrian + Headdress, Outside of Zahle, Lebanon

Looking back at my early years with the Syrian children living in Lebanon. Back then they lived in Lebanon in order to find work, to better support their families.

I remember her very well. While we waited for softer light, she insisted on being photographed right then and there. Her reason was that she needed to go home. All of a sudden all the girls wanted to be photographed right then. She had a great attitude and did her best with the sunlight!

Etsy 

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Sisters + Mountains, Near Zahle, Lebanon, 2019

It’s amazing to see such expressions of friendship on my first visit to a place. One, this is a conservative community. Two, the pictures are being made by a stranger to their camp. Three, I am Lebanese while they are Syrian.

In the end all three points disappeared in the face of true friendship, between themselves and between them and the stranger with the camera. More than Arabic as a common language, it’s the language without words that matters most. 

Here are two girls simply having fun without any concern for the thoughts of others!

Etsy 

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Love and Peace, Zahle, Lebanon, 2019

At her tender age she knows more than the fools in charge of the land in which she lives. She understands what we need now and displays it with her hand and her sweater. The ruling class needs to have such wisdom.

For 23 years I have had the privilege of photographing the Syrians living within Lebanon. Her camp was a new one for me last year, yet the children were as warm as those from the familiar camps. This is the expression they shared with me, such kindness! 

They are barely surviving in these strenuous times, even worse after the explosion and the failures of the economy and the ruling class. My hope is for better, for a brighter future. 

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Syrian Girls + Tent, Near Zahle, Lebanon, 2019

The darkroom has been the saving grace for this summer's inability to travel, especially to see my family in Lebanon... both blood and photographic. Moments like the one in this image are unforgettable, and inspire me to believe in a better future. These girls and their families were forced to leave their homeland of Syria due to the civil war, and have done their best to survive in Lebanon. We were finished with our photography for the afternoon and decided to have some fun with the digital camera. A bit of joking and they were off to the races with their laughter... missing moments like this, and will wait patiently until the next time! 

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Romy + Sky, Zahle, Lebanon, 2019

Last year I was working in Los Angeles for 3 months. One weekend I returned to Cleveland for a visit, and drove out to DC to pick up the processed film from Lebanon. It had been months since the film was dropped off for processing. Thanks to David and Dodge Chrome Imaging, the film looked beautiful!

A big thanks to Romy Drouby for her patience on that beautiful afternoon in Zahle, Lebanon! 

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A Dozen with Romy, Zahle, Lebanon, 2019

After the red eye from LA to DC, and the drive to CLE, it feels divine to have the processed film from this summer in Lebanon... thank you David and @dodgechrome for the beautiful negatives!

Syrian + Camp, Near Zahle, Lebanon, 2019

After the red eye last month from LA to DC, and the drive to CLE, it feels divine to have the processed film from this summer in Lebanon... thank you David and Dodge-Chrome, Inc. for the beautiful negatives!

Note: This is the view of the negative through a loupe, made with an iPhone.

Syrian Refugee + Window, Near Zahle, Lebanon, 2019

The processing of this summer's film is almost finished, and I cannot wait to see the negatives. Thanks to the trust of the Syrian community, my hope is that poignant portraits of their children have been made and that these can provide a greater sense of understanding between all in Lebanon.

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Note: This image was made with a Fuji X-T3.

Film + Syrians, Zahle, Lebanon, 2019

It feels good to have film once again, as these rolls were exposed last month near Zahle, Lebanon.

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Girl at Play, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, 2018

My photography in Lebanon is different than my photography in other countries, for my family lives here also. The contrasts are as striking as the similarities. The children I photograph speak the same language as my family, yet they are from another country. In the morning I may be with my family in the town and then photographing in the camps located below in the valley.

There is the contrast in religions, the difference in nationalities... while there is the similarity in ethnicity, in culture. It is a fascinating experience and one perhaps which has been taken for granted. Next year that changes, for I will be spending more time with both families, one blood and one photographic.

Speaking of culture, on the morning this image was made the girls decided to imitate what they see on their television screens. The films of India have made their way to Lebanon in a dramatic fashion. The children watch the films with fascination, and know the popular songs by heart. They even recognized some of the songs on my phone, videos of girls in Uttar Pradesh performing popular pieces from Bollywood.

So after an hour of formal portraits, the girls decided to dress up and have some fun. They changed scarves and pulled jewelry out of nowhere it seemed. The energy level during this phase of photography was much different, more vibrant. They exchanged scarves and helped each other with styling.

It was also chaotic, almost too much on the mother of the tent in which we were photographing. She endured as much as she could, and then came up with a reason to end it all as the situation was almost out of control!

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Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.

Syrian Girl + Tent, Bekaa Valley, Zahle, Lebanon, 2018

This young girl lives in the spot where my photography was born over two decades ago. This past month was my chance to photograph them again, following the documentation from last year. Her parents were the ones photographed by me so many years ago, now it was her turn. She is a young Syrian girl living in a camp just outside of Zahle, Lebanon. Her community has lived there for over three decades, prior to the current influx of Syrians from the hostilities in their homeland.

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Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.

Syrian Refugee + Fabric, Zahle, Lebanon, 2017

The men driving me to the camps have been amazed by the beauty within them, especially this young girl living just fifteen or so minutes from my grandparents' home. The men have lived in this town since birth and have driven past the camps on countless occasions. Yet they had never stopped for a minute to interact with the populations within, had never seen such beauty.

Most are offended by the intense smell, or by the mere presence of the refugees within their country. In so many ways such a presence has put a strain on the country, with the economy in distress and the already fragile security more strained.

However for me these camps are the birth of my photography, for me the children within them are as beautiful, as strong and as vibrant as any encountered in my travels. They are the flowers amidst the chaos, they are the inspiration behind my work.

This young girl's smile erases the difficulty in achieving her portrait. While men look on at times in disapproval, she stands her ground and speaks her mind through her portrait. She refuses to be silenced, refuses to be ignored. If this portrait can communicate such to the viewers, then it has done justice to her spirit.

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Note: This image was made with a Hasselblad 555 ELD/180 mm combination onto Ilford Delta 100 film.

Mechanics + Engine, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, 2008

These young mechanics worked in a shop adjacent to the girls in my photographs. As I walked past them they began speaking to me, and asked about my camera. They wanted to be photographed, and so I did. Each had their own response to being photographed, but all were kind in their responses.

We talked for a few more minutes, I walked over to look at the engine, loved the scent of the space, then walked over to photograph the girls next door.

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Note: This image was made with a Contax G2/45 mm combination onto Fuji Neopan Acros 100 ISO film.

Portrait, Location, Benefit, Humana People to People India, July 12, 2013

This Friday we hope to increase awareness and raise funding for five schools for girls in Rajasthan, India. This is a collaboration with Humana People to People India, and a visit to the region will be made in October of this year to share in the joy of reopening the schools.

In the images above, one can see the location of the portrait to the right in the postcard. The young girl living in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon was photographed in between the three dark buildings to the bottom of the image, against the side of the middle structure as she was facing the road perpendicular to the small path.

I will visit this collection of small buildings on my next visit to my homeland, and hope to find her once again.

The Sheikh and his Daughter, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, Summer of 2009

I have known this man and his family for over sixteen years. In this small, tent city my photography was born. Since we first met five of his children have been born, including the young girl standing next to him. He is a brother to me, as she is a daughter.

Along with my blood family nearby, these are the faces that greet me in Lebanon. The expression on her face is the expression she shows me time and time again. She is aware of my love for her, and he allows this love to be expressed. In my travels this is quite rare, regardless of culture or location.

As a matter of fact, during this visit it happened. We were walking back from the end of the dirt path towards this very spot when she looked up at me and said these words: 'you are my father, my uncle and my brother.'

She said these words without pause in response to my words: 'you are my mother, my sister and my daughter.' This is how comfortable this family allows me to be. While the work can be difficult at times, should anything happen that makes me feel like leaving, one conversation with this man and everything is straightened out.

On one occasion his own brother and I argued and it seemed that my work was finished. When he caught wind of the argument, he took it upon himself to call a meeting with the elders of the village. They listened to both sides and allowed me back into the village and into the lives of their girls.

This summer will mark three years since my last visit, and due to the instability in the region this year it seems improbable once again to visit. These wonderful people are Syrians living in Lebanon for the sake of work. Their girls work in the fields at least twelve hours a day while the boys work in various shops around town.

They live incredibly difficult lives, and do with the minimum while working in Lebanon until their return to Syria. It seems that this return is in peril at this moment, but my hope is that peace returns to their homeland and that they are safe while in Lebanon.

halim.ina@gmail.com
Halim Ina Photography

Young Bedouin Girl, Bekaa Valley near Zahle, Lebanon, Summer of 2005

In this one alley I have made countless images of a few families, all related. Wind always plays with their hair, and the adjacent buildings act as soft boxes reflecting sunlight onto their faces. In the image above she sits at her cousin's house, with her own building acting as that reflective surface.

I have always worked alone here, even though on a few occasions the work was less than easy. Usually I arrive in the early afternoon while my own family is sleeping, sit down with their families for a little bit then arrange to work with the children. I have been photographing this young girl and her cousins for the past eight years, and have come to learn most of their names.

The neighborhood is really quiet, and next to a few small camps of migrant workers from Syria. As a matter of fact her family and all the rest in the nearby buildings are themselves migrants now married within the Lebanese community, and living in stone buildings rather than tents. However their lives are similar to those in the tent cities, they tend to their herds and work in various jobs to support their families, mostly jobs that the mainstream population refrains from performing.

I look forward to working with them again, even though my last visit was the most difficult so far. From my experience I will make the first day count, because as the excitement wears thin the photography becomes more difficult.

halim.ina@gmail.com
Halim Ina Photography