Photography exhibition provides glimpse into the lives of refugees

21st June 2018

Photo exhibition shows the lives and experiences of refugee and asylum seeking children throughout Europe Exhibition includes University of Sheffield research into the health experiences of migrant children Event part of Migration Matters a city-wide festival celebrating the positive impact that refugees have on Sheffield A new exhibition featuring photos that show the lives and experiences of refugee and asylum seeking children is being launched next week (19 June 2018) as part of a city-wide festival.

The photos, which were captured by Abdulazez Dukan, a 19-year-old photographer from Syria, tell the stories of people who live in refugee camps throughout Europe. Abdulazez spent much of his teenage life in refugee camps following the war in Syria which started in 2011. At 12 years old, he had to move multiple times to different cities before reaching Turkey in 2014. After spending five months in Turkey because of closed borders, Abdulazez started photography to tell the stories of people who lived in the refugee camp. His images are now being displayed alongside research from the University of Sheffield into the health experiences of migrant children throughout Europe. Led by Dr Jill Thompson, Professor Penny Curtis and Dr Hannah Fairbrother from the University's School of Nursing and Midwifery, the study has found that migrant children's experience of healthcare is often overlooked by health researchers. Abdulazez said: -In February 2016 I left Turkey and headed to Europe. As the borders were closed at that time, I had to stay in Idomeni and Eko station refugee camps for five months. That is where my story began. I started photography while I was living in the refugee camp to tell stories of the people who were there, the real stories. -In 2017 I received asylum and could leave Greece, after a year and a half. I left for Belgium carrying the experience I had, what had passed became part of me, my journey, the boat I came in, the tent I lived in, the refugees I met and the volunteers I worked with, it is all me. -In the future, I will definitely be doing more photography and telling more stories from faceless people just like me when I got into Greece. Photography isn't just a hobby for me, photography is a way to break walls between people. My name is Abdulazez Dukhan, one of the faceless. Dr Jill Thompson added: -Our research has found that migrant children's own voices in relation to their health experiences are often invisible. They are often overlooked as passive subjects of research rather than active agents and so their perspectives are often ignored. -If we can increase our understanding of migrant children and their experiences then we can help to ensure that health services are appropriately targeted and utilised. The exhibition is part of Migration Matters a festival celebrating the positive impact that refugees have on the city of Sheffield. The festival features several events at which academics from the University of Sheffield are set to reveal some of their latest research into the lives and experiences of refugees and asylum seekers. Events featuring University of Sheffield researchers include: Refugees Matter a video exhibition by Dr Jules Holroyd from the University's Department of Philosophy tackling objections to assisting refugees and giving arguments for welcoming refugees to the UK I'm a Stranger Here Myself A talk by Dr Sabine Little from the University's School of Education on her experiences of being a migrant and her research into multilingual families. Dr Little's research explores how different family members experience migration, family languages, and belonging, and how these feed into ways in which we construct our identities Back Where You Came From A workshop run by Dr Casey Strine from the University's Department of History on the relationship between migration, religion, and art Stories of Migration and Belonging A special programme of film screenings, in partnership with the University's Migration Research Group, showcasing films made by women exploring different representations of migration, identity and belonging across the world. Hidden Voices, The Health Experiences of Migrant Children exhibition opens on Tuesday 19 June 2018 until 4pm on Saturday 23 June 2018 at Theatre Deli in Sheffield. For full details of events featuring University of Sheffield researchers, including ticket information, please visit:http://www.migrationmattersfestival.co.uk/schedule/ For more information on the research into migrant children's health experiences by Dr Jill Thompson, visit:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0033350618300611?via=ihub