Children of the Alley: Photography by Suchitra Vijayan

More work at : http://gallery.suchitravijayan.com/v/GAEL/

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A personal invitation to my Gallery Exhibit @ Artist Xchange

JANUARY ART EXHIBIT – NEW WORKS
Friday, January 8th, 7PM-10PM

Venue:  Artist-Xchange Gallery
3169 16th Street, San Francisco 94103
(415)-864-1490

Music By: DJ Michael P. Orecchia

DJ Michael P. Orecchia is an enthusiast and collector of all styles of music from jazz, ambient, funk, and dub, to house, techno, and electro.  Listeners can expect to hear an eclectic, yet cohesive mix, with a heavy emphasis on groove and atmosphere.

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back alleys have no name , just numbers
before plunging into structures again
recently arrived
ground charged with secrets
land of unsustained myths
street paved of lost histories
verses and darkness

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I am posting images I have shot over the years.

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First shot , first roll of film , Leeds 2004

Second roll of film, shot in my room. Final year of undergrad Leeds 2004

Bhavna and Tom, on the day of my graduation. Leeds 2004.

From my room in London, 2004.

Hague 2006.

Barcelona, 2006

Seville, Spain 2006

Madras , 2006

Zanzibar 2007

Arusha, Tanzanite 2007

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These are a series of images shot in the Tanzanite Mining town of Merarani. Tanzanite is named after the East African state of Tanzania, the only place in the world where it has been found is in the mining town in Mererani hills of Simanjiro, in Northern Tanzania. Tanzanite is soon becoming Africa’s new bloodstained gem. Poor working conditions, wide spread exploitation of miners, lack of clean environment, no worker identifications cards, no labour contracts, poor mining gear, chronic poverty makes this yet another African story retold.

In 2001 small scale mining was suspended following the accident that claimed 39 lives. The then Deputy Mnister of Energy and Minerals, Dr. Ibrahim Msabaha promised implementation of a stricter regime to govern the working conditions of the miners. Six years after this promise, conditions have worsened for the miners. The miners still don’t have an organized Labour union to fight for or protect their collective rights.

While trying to enter the Opec mining complex in Merarani, I as diligently stopped by the guards who said I needed to pay 50 dollar to enter the premises. After much bargaining I was stopped from entering the mining enclosure. However on the way back I meet a few of the miners and spoke to them in length about their mining conditions. Some more miners joined, the informal interview became an intense heart felt conversation that lasted over an hour.

These images were shot over the course of the conversation

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Announcement for Circulation

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

‘OTHERS’
A photo-based book about extraordinary women living in Egypt.
Concept,Photography & Content by Suchitra Vijayan.
Layout and Editorial Management by Ghada Kabesh.

OTHERS is a photography project that will culminate in a coffee table book to be published in Egypt through an international publisher. The book will be distributed all over the world. A photography exhibition based on the Book will be held in  Cairo in 2009. The book is an artistic selection of photos, minimal text and monographs that tell the story, the views, the messages of a diverse selection of extraordinary, unconventional women living in Egypt.

Who is a woman that should be in ‘OTHERS’?

• She is a resident of Egypt.
• She is a woman with a story, a vision, a dream or a message to share with the world.
• She is a woman who stands out, who does not necessarily belong to the crowd of millions of other women, yet so many other women could easily relate to her.
• She is a woman of controversy, a woman who is not afraid to portrait her uniqueness and showcases her individuality rather than hide it.
• She is a woman of a special style and has the story behind that style and character to tell.
• She likes to have her pictures taken and does is not afraid of the so called ‘imperfections’ as these are what makes her the special being that she is.

How can I submit a story or be part of this project?
If you think you are that woman or if you know a woman who could be that woman, if you want to share your story, your dream, your struggle, your desire, your success, your vision with the world, please write to us on gkabesh@gmail.com and suchitrav@gmail.com

The participation process includes:

• An initial introductory meeting to hear your story
• A second meeting to discuss photo shooting ideas, preferences and things you want to highlight most
• A schedule for an initial photo shooting
• A second photo session might be necessary
• A meeting to select your final photos and sign a model release agreement (where you state that you agree to have your pictures published in a book and used for a photography exhibition)

Please feel free to forward this email to interested receivers.

If you have any further questions or if you would like to nominate a candidate for the book, submit an idea or just share your feelings about this project, please feel free to give me a call on the below contacts.

Yaser Al Masry is a pro-democracy activist from Sudan. Born in Niyala (Darfur), he was active in the Student Union and helped found a number of discussion groups such as the Nebras, Sham al Naseem, Al Manar in Niyal, all of which were considered anti-government political organizations. He founded newsletters among these groups. His torture was as a result of his participation in Nebras, he was incarcerated for 35 days. He distributed these newsletters throughout all the secondary schools. So, he became well known, especially in Darfur, but in Khartoum as well. His name was widely circulated in regional newspapers in 1993 because of his participation in these groups. He was arrested 11 times and released after lobbying by  international groups for his release. After this incident he became known among many political circles in Sudan. During each of these encarcerations, he underwent torture, and many of his medical problems now are a result of this torture because in addition to physical torture, they would feed him toxic materials.

Fleeing persecution , Yaser sought refuge in Egypt and registered with the UNHCR, Cairo. He has been followed in Egypt by the government of Sudan since he arrived. At a Christmas party 2007 in 6th of October, government hired and directed groups kidnapped him and beat him for six days. In April 2007 he was first diagnosed with hemorrhoids, and recommended that he be operated on for his hemorrhoids for a “Hemorrhoid Operation for Anal Fissure.” He was given this diagnosis without an examination, and the doctor told him that he had this problem because he “didn’t clean himself.” Having no money, he did not undergo treatment. But was instead given two injections one for anesthesia and one for widening his anus because he had been constipated. On July 7th 2007, it was suspected that he had colon cancer. He was scheduled to come in to have the operation about 7-10 days before July 30th. He was in a common room with people with non-urgent cases. He stayed for two days in this waiting room where people were smoking. After two days of waiting, he left and returned on July 30th and paid 4,500 LE for a private room. They initially paid 3000LE, but they said that if they did not pay the remaining 1500LE, they would not bring the blood for the operation. They were planning to operate on him that day, but later he found out that they were planning to perform the wrong operation intended for another person. Even after he paid for the private room, they would not let his wife stay with him. He was operated on August 1st during which he removed 35 centimeters of the colon and the rectum. The tumor had extended to 25 cm, and cut 5 cm on each side. He endured chemotherapy from August 2007 until April 2008. During this period, the Caritas doctor had him sign that he had received chemotherapy treatments months before he had actually received them. In January 2008, the chemotherapy was discontinued for two weeks because he lacked funds. He received all of his chemotherapy in a clinic, not a hospital. So, he received his treatments in an hour, as opposed to the eight hour sessions they usually take.

Reapeated attempts to get the UNHCR to resettle him as a Medicial Emergency failed. Individual medical emergency requests were submitted to various embassies. When all hope was about to run out. In what can be called only as a miracle, Mr Al Masry was granted a Emergency Medical Visa to India to be treated

Yaser’s story is one of courage and a fight for human dignity. This blog is a tribute to the resilence of human spirit …

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When I returned from so many journeys, I stayed suspended and green between sun and geography – I saw how wings worked, how perfumes are transmitted by feathery telegraph, and from above I saw the path, the springs and the roof tiles, the fishermen at their trades, the trousers of the foam; I saw it all from my green sky. I had no more the swallows in their courses, the tiny, shining water of the small bird on fire which dances out of the pollen.

-Pablo Neruda

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My first six months have come to an end. This is also the begining of the end of phase in my life.
I moved out of my expensive 3 bedroom apartment in Mohindeseen to a smaller one in Downtown. This was shot in one of the Alley ways nest to my house.

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