Tag: Asim Rafiqui

War is Only Half the Story…

Wednesday, December 17th, 2008

On TOLERANCE:

“It is imperative that freedom of judgment should be granted, so that men may live together in harmony, however diverse, or even openly contradictory their opinions may be.” —Spinoza

“What is toleration? It is the prerogative of humanity. We are all steeped in weaknesses and errors: let us forgive one another our follies, it is the first law of nature.” —Voltaire

In 2005, after having completed a moving story of the aftermath of the war in Bosnia (which was published by Channel Photographics as a book titled Aftermath: Bosnia’s Long Road to Peace), Sara Terry founded The Aftermath Project. It’s mission sums up the motivation behind the organization:

“The Aftermath Project is a non-profit organization committed to telling the other half of the story of conflict — the story of what it takes for individuals to learn to live again, to rebuild destroyed lives and homes, to restore civil societies, to address the lingering wounds of war while struggling to create new avenues for peace.

For the last few years, The Aftermath Project has provided a once-a-year grant to photographers. “The Aftermath Project holds a yearly grant competition open to working photographers worldwide covering the aftermath of conflict. In addition, through partnerships with universities, photography institutions and non-profit organizations, the Project seeks to help broaden the public’s understanding of the true cost of war— and the real price of peace — through international traveling exhibitions and educational outreach in communities and schools.”

Last week, I was honored to serve as one of three judges for this years’ grant cycle. Maggie Steber, an internationally recognized photojournalist based in Miami, and Sara Terry both flew to Santa Fe where the three of us holed up on the grounds of the Santa Fe Workshops to review the submissions. In the end, it was a very tough competition. There were numerous projects that were worthy of support; in the end, two grant winners and a total of six finalists were recognized. PDNonline has just run an announcement about the winners. Below is the full list of winners followed by my statement regarding top grant winner Asim Rafiqui’s proposal.

$25,000 grant: Asim Rafiqui (Sweden/US), for his project, “The Idea of India: Religious and Cultural Pluralism as Resistance to Sectarian Conflict,” an exploration of the aftermath of religious conflict in India through documenting pluralist landscapes, shared sacred sites, shared cultural traditions and efforts at reconciliation within divided communities.

$15,000 grant: Louie Palu (Canada), for his project, “Home Front,” which explores and compares the experiences of American Vietnam War veterans, and returning soldiers from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Palu’s project focuses on the emotional and psychological issues faced by soldiers who return from war and the long-term effects they deal with as they try to reintegrate into their families and society.

In alphabetical order, they are:
Rodrigo Abd (Guatemala) – “Reclaiming the dead: Mass Graves in Guatemala, a story only partially told”
Andrea Bruce (US) – “Unseen Iraq”
David Monteleone (Italy) – “Russian Caucasus”
Saiful Huq Omi (Bangladesh) – “The Disowned and the Denied: the Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh”
Donald Weber (Canda) – “Firewalk: Life with Cluster Bombs in South Lebanon”
Ami Vitale (US) – “Kashmir: Lifting the Veil”

This was my juror’s statement regarding Asim Rafiqui’s work:

“When freedom of conscience, liberty of thought and right of speech are upheld within a society, when each person, according to their own manner of worship, is allowed to express their beliefs, development and growth are not only the norm, but inevitable. The subcontinent of India has, for countless generations, provided humanity with an example of a pluralistic and deeply religious society that has dis-allowed the diversity of religious sentiments from hindering its many differing peoples from developing deep bonds of affection, tolerance, and service to each other.

“This was the norm until the bankrupt nationalistic philosophies of the twentieth century were allowed to run amok amidst the generality of the worlds’ populations. Ultra-nationalism and its close ideological cousin, tribalism, are both nothing more than racialist tendencies masquerading as points of falsely-placed pride.

“When religious sentiments tied to patriotism are stirred-up and the fires of religious hatred and intolerance are fanned to flame, more often than not by the clergy, the baser tendencies in man flourish. This is especially deplorable when religion is involved, for the fundamental purpose, as attested by the scriptures of all the world’s great religious systems, is to safeguard the interests and promote the unity of the human race, as well as foster the spirit of love and fellowship amongst men.

“Asim Rafiqui’s work as a photographer aims to recover this lost sense of religious pluralism and tolerance for a 21st century India. He states that he is “using photography not only as a means of evidence, but also as a vessel for the imagination.” His multi-faceted work addresses the rich legacy that is still present in much of India, through her shared sacred sites and integrated communities. Rafiqui’s photographs are elegantly layered compositions that convey the vibrancy and urgency of his project.

“With the imbalanced reporting of seemingly constant acts of inhumanity reported through our mainstream media, we have little chance to imagine, picture or develop a true sense of community, not just in India, but world-wide. The way must be discovered again. We must be helped to imagine such an alternative reality as opposed to what we too-often see before us. I anxiously await more from the camera of Asim Rafiqui.”

From Louie Palu’s project, “Home Front”:

The Aftermath Project is served by a wonderful group of board members and advisors, including Jeff Jacobson, Nancy Foley, Sara Terry, Charles Harbutt, Arthur Ollman, Kent Kobersteen, Roy Flukinger, Frish Brandt, Susan Meiselas, and Elisabeth Hoffman.

Here are a few images from the judging: Sara getting it all organized…

Maggie Steber, Sara Terry peeking over the top and myself:

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