Freedom From Torture Photo Exhibition, London

The photo above is one I hold close to my heart. Taken in 2016 during the heights of the Greek refugee crisis, on the border to Macedonia. It was a moment I stumbled upon that felt overall surreal, yet brimming with joy and dogged hope in the midst of a deeply frustrating situation. Most people in the camp were utterly exhausted, afraid of the limbo they were stuck in after the borders had shut to all nationalities once a deal had been struck between the EU and Turkey. The symbolism of this photo is perhaps a little too on the nose; the disembodied wings as the border fence looms in the background - but this was the scene as I found it after-all! It felt emblematic of the stubborn hope and desire for freedom, for dignity, that everyone in the camp felt robbed of. After a short conversation with these children in broken Arabic and English they mentioned they were Syrian Kurds fleeing the on-going fighting at the time. Then in a flash they went off running into the dusk-lit horizon - laughing, playing and making do with the situation that was forced upon them. Just doing as kids do.

The organisation Freedom from Torture work to support vulnerable migrants who've escaped such dire situations, especially those persecuted for a whole range of reasons. I decided to enter their photo competition at the last second with the photo of these children titled "Broken Wings", the brief being "Freedom" and what it means to us, and was pleasantly surprised to be shortlisted amongst 24 photographers.

Entries were judged by a professional jury composed of three established creatives: Kolbassia Haoussou (MBE) who serves as the head of Freedom from Tortures Survivor Empowerment Directorate. Aisha Olamide Seriki, a Nigerian multi-media artist, and Adrian Evans, the Director of the Panos Pictures photo agency. The exhibitions were nation-wide, showing at the 44AD Artspace in Bath, the Glasgow Gallery of Photography in Glasgow, and the Velorose Gallery in London which I attended for a private viewing.

The full project of which this photo is a part of, At the Gates of Europe, can be found on my site here: https://www.zadebasilthanoon.com/at-the-gates-of-europe.

To donate to or get involved with Freedom for Torture, please visit: https://www.freedomfromtorture.org