A photography exhibition focusing on the lived experience of reunited refugee families in the UK has opened at the UEA – with an accompanying documentary launching tomorrow, during UEA Refugee Week. Research project lead Dr Maria Abranches explains that it is giving refugee families a voice they often don’t have
A close-up of a cake, a father and son reunited and a dog looking out of the window are just three of 24 photographs taken by refugee families and currently on display at the Enterprise Centre, as part of University of East Anglia’s Refugee Week. The When the Dust Settles exhibition brings together the work of a project funded by the British Academy and led by Dr Maria Abranches, a lecturer in Social Anthropology in the School on International Development at the UEA, in collaboration with Amy Lythgoe of Together Now.
In the images produced, participants chose to convey different aspects of their post-reunion life through themes they considered important in their lives. The display reveals how individuals and families develop resilience strategies and actively make sense of the changes and opportunities that occur in everyday life after reunion, while also continuing to experience instability and challenges.
The hope is that it will encourage viewers to rethink the idea that transition and crisis are replaced by a sense of settling for longer term refugees, and help organisations that support refugee family reunion to more effectively direct their post-reunion intervention towards the needs of families in this important but less understood life stage of their lives.
An accompanying documentary launching tomorrow (Tuesday March 7) is co-written with the same participant families, who narrate their stories in more detail. The When the Dust Settles documentary is intended to challenge current dominant narratives of exile, by drawing on family stories to stimulate discussion and reflection, disrupting the view of refugees as a homogenous collective removed from historical context, agency and humanity.
Maria says that an event specifically focusing on family reunion is particularly important at a time when the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration recently reported that there are currently 8000 people waiting for decisions on their family reunion applications.
She adds: The exhibition gives refugee individuals and families a voice that they often don’t have, as they were able to freely express how they experience their everyday lives in the UK, with all the challenges and possibilities it involves.
‘The use of participatory photography worked as a more inclusive and intimate way for people to express themselves without language and other barriers, and the exhibition will encourage viewers to reconsider their views of what living in exile really means.
‘It is important to bring this exhibition to the UEA, who has supported the research, thus reinforcing our commitment to challenge dominant narratives that tend to dehumanize people.’
The ‘When the Dust Settles’ photography exhibition is at the Enterprise Centre, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, until March 10, 2023. Free admission; Monday–Friday, 9:30am–16:30pm. The documentary will be launched at the Enterprise Centre on March 7 at 5:30pm, followed by Q&A with film director Ayoola Jolayemi and producer Maria Abranches. No need to pre-book. For the full programme of events during UEA Refugee Week visit ueasanctuary.org
Featured image of Alem Gebre and his son: ‘I left Ethiopia when my son was only two, so it was very hard when he arrived, as he had never been that close to me. Here I am compensating for the time we lost when we were apart, and I am thinking what would have happened if he hadn’t been able to come.’
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