February 5, 1999 Calvin College Chimes

Photo exhibit empowers children, enlightens students By Matt VandeBunte World News Editor The walls of Hiemenga Hall lobby were adorned this week with a photographic display entitled “Photographs by Refugee Children: An Exhibit of Rights Denied.” The large pictures, taken by children aged 10 to 15, depict the people and activities in Ein El Hilweh, a Palestinian refugee camp near Sidon, Lebanon in which the children live. The child-photographers took part in a seven day workshop run by Peter Fryer on behalf of Save The Children (UK). The organization, based in the United Kingdom, provided 20 cameras and 200 rolls of film to children in Ein El Hilweh, a camp of 35,000 refugees, the largest in Lebanon. With the film and cameras, the children were free to photograph whatever caught their attention within the camp: scenes of home, family, play, environment, living conditions, culture. Along with taking pictures, the children interviewed elders in the community, such as grandparents, and wrote journals about their experiences. “Making a visual documentary and then writing about it empowers the children,” said Fryer, who delivered a lecture last night in the Meeter Center Lecture Hall. He said that the workshop gave the children notions about their culture and identity, both of which have been lost in the five decades since the creation of the state of Israel and the formation of Palestinian refugee camps. While Fryer noted that the primary purpose of the touring exhibit, which included statements made by the children regarding the images, was to provide exposure of the children’s work and to offer them a sense of being, he also hoped that the display would inform students at Calvin about the refugee camps, enabling them to “just see for the first time” inside the camps. Fryer hopes that by making students aware, the display may spark their interest in the refugee situation that has become a permanent fixture in the Middle East. In addition, Fryer hopes that the exhibit will help break down stereotypes. “What is a Palestinian? Someone who lives in a tent and throws rocks,” Fryer said, presenting a common stereotype. “These photos show that the children have dreams and aspirations, they have fun, too.” photo by Flores This photograph, taken by a child living in a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon, could be seen as part of an exhibit this week in the lobby area of Hiemenga Hall. Fryer said that Save The Children, which has just been awarded a major Lottery Grant for its work in the Middle East and also receives funding from many non-governmental organizations (NGOs), plans to conduct further workshops and to link children in the refugee camps with children in other camps and also in Europe. Through e-mail and letter-writing, common stereotypes may erode further and the children in the refugee camps will gain greater insight into their own culture and identity. “It’s a little thing” said Fryer. “It’s not earth-shattering but it’s important.” The photographic display, which previously has visited NYU and Harvard and plans to go to Washington and Los Angeles, made Calvin one of four stops, including appearances at Columbia University and the University of Michigan, on its current trip to the United States. Calvin professor of history Bert de Vries coordinated the efforts of the Calvin College Multicultural Affairs Office, Calvin College Progressives, Calvin College History Department, and the Institute for Global Education in Grand Rapids to bring the photographic exhibit to Calvin.