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Foundations for a Photography Workshop in Jordan’s Gaza Refugee Camp

  • August 4, 2014
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 In Jerash, Jordan resides a large population of Palestinian refugees from Gaza. Along with the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, several of my friends and another Jordanian photographer and founder of Darat al Tasweer Linda Al Khouri, visited the camp to collect information before we host the first photography workshop held solely for the residents of the camp. 

One of the residents, Mohammed, offered to show us around the scrappy refugee camp, and as we meandered the gravel roads, I felt a sense of longing for beloved Gaza, a place in which I spent a good portion of time living and working. People were going on with their daily tasks, ready to look up to welcome us newcomers with that familiar greeting of peace “Salam”. Many children were dressed in new clothes for the Eid holidays, while others weren’t. I felt the Eid sprit was much stronger than it was in Amman, although I couldn’t but help sense a melancholy that lingered in the warm summer air. At a certain point we came across kids playing on the swings made of spare parts and car axles, while the older kids pushed them around. Issa, Mohammed and Ahmad are 18, their parents arrived from Gaza before they were born but their sprit conserved that strength and beauty I have become so accustomed to in Palestine. From simple gestures I could see how strong the bond of friendship was between them. Before I left Issa insisted I take his picture without even asking me to send it. Later on we spoke with some of the parents, and with surprised tones, they told me how many of their children asked not to receive gifts this year, in compassion with the current situation in Gaza.

 Many people of civilized Amman consider these kids as trouble-makers or not trustworthy, but I continue to learn valuable life lessons from all these remarkable kindred spirits.

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Sami Haven

Sami Haven was born in Amman, Jordan, in 1987. His mother is originally from Yabroud, Syria, and his father is English born in the Caribbean. He grew up in his grandmother's house in Jabal al-wehbdeh, in the heart of Amman. In 2003 Sami moved to Al-Saru, on the outskirts of Amman, where he studied graphic design at Al Ahliyya University, graduating with the highest grades of his class. In 2005 he moved to Rome, Italy, where he did his masters in Photography. Sami worked with the world's most famous photographers like Steven Klein and Oliviero Toscani, along with many others. His works have been included in the Biennale of Venice directed by Kazuyo Sejima, Paris-Photo, and also in Tokio. After working in various editions of X-FACTOR Italia - making video clips for the contestants - in theatre with Fendi, and in the high fashion industry, Sami felt there was something missing, and so he decided to go to Gaza, Palestine, because it is an example of resistance and humanity, and to try and contrast the image constructed by the Western media that serves only the powerful. Today Sami is co-funder and part of an on growing conceptual group called Jasmine. A group united through passion against fear, a smell that's to spread out from the Mediterranean like a virus, to contaminate the world with Love, and heal from indifference. All can be part, and all shall be armed: Culture, Art, Music and Sport shall be our weapons of mass construction.

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