“Here I am not afraid”
February 13, 2012
Des Moines, Iowa – A warm pot on the kitchen stove. The blessing and naming of a baby. The colorful and ancient traditions of a Hindu festival. A marriage ceremony. A grandmother with her young granddaughter.
For the 15 refugee women who participated in LSI’s Photovoice project, it was the first time any of them had ever held a camera.
Yet, the images they captured are timeless.
Thanks to a grant through the Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the volunteer leadership of Des Moines photographer Diane Cutler, last autumn LSI coordinated a photography initiative for refugee women.
The project aimed at giving voice to women who are seldom heard, providing them with disposable cameras, training and a series of sessions to share and scrapbook their photos.
“These women have life experiences few of us can imagine, yet they also have universal stories of faith, family and friendship,” said Jill Stuecker, LSI director of refugee services. “Many of them have a deep hunger to share their lives with others and to promote mutual understanding between people of different cultures.”
All of the women spent decades living in refugee camps, where each raised their families. When they first fled their native countries with children in their arms and belongings on their backs, few knew where they were going.
They were just glad to be alive.
“I was born in a small village in Burma,” said Day Day. “In 1983, the Burmese army burned the villages. We walked for 4 or 5 days to get to Thailand, with the Burmese army nearby. We climbed a mountain, and we had to carry our babies. We were hungry all of the time.”
“I lived in the refugee camp for 25 years,” she said. “All of my children and grandchildren were born there. When you live in a refugee camp you can’t get out. Life was difficult. There was violence, and we were often afraid. I was so lucky that my whole family came to the U.S. Here we get enough food, and I am not afraid. I want to learn English better.”
In one of her new photos, Day Day stands proudly outside LSI’s Refugee Community Center.
“I am old, but not educated,” she said, describing the photo. “I took this picture in front of my school. I want to improve myself. I want to speak English very well.”
Standing in front of your school. Laughing with a circle of friends. Singing at your church.
It’s that universal quality of the photos that is most striking, that makes them less like photographs and more like mirrors into the soul of shared human experience.
In one picture, Jash Gurung sits on the edge of a bed, elegant in her native dress, her young granddaughter leaning her head on Jash’s shoulder.
The moment is quiet, and the message is simple, familiar to any grandmother, anywhere.
“I am happy when I play with my grandchildren,” she said. “And I am happy that all my family members are with me.”
Amen.
Learn more about LSI’s Refugee Community Services.
