Each day, thousands of illegal immigrants are smuggled across the border. They are shoved into gas tanks, squeezed into cargo boxes, and hidden in the backs of trucks.They are pressed into small boats by the hundreds just to be sunk off the coast. News coverage has made us all painfully aware of what Syrian refugees go through in order to enter Europe. Yet with all the focus of the Syrian refugees fleeing the Middle East, why haven’t we asked ourselves what happens to those who stay behind? In his article “Photo Exhibition Puts Syrian Refugees on the Seine,” Elian Peltier features Reza Deghati who seeks to answer this question by creating a photo exhibition right on the banks of the Seine River.
Before we look at Reza’s work, we must first understand what is happening in 
Syria. In 2011, a series of reform movements and protests spread across the Middle East including Syria. Feeling threatened by the movement’s demands, Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad responded by attacking the protesters. He ordered their kidnappings, tortures, and murders in addition to destroying the suburbs in which they lived. In wake of this totalitarian atrocity, militant rebel groups were formed, aiming to establish a more moderate government. Syria erupted into a full blown civil war. In the midst of the internal fighting, ISIS entered Syria in search of territory and has been fighting both the rebel and government forces ever since. Surrounded by three opposing fronts in a war that has been going on for over four years now, Syrian civilians have no choice but to flee the country.
Once outside of Syria, refugees have two options, to stay in the Middle East in a refugee camp or to enter Europe and try to establish themselves. It is easy for Europeans to blame the refugees for entering Europe instead of staying in the Middle East. After all, these refugees are disrupting local economies and cultures. In the midst of this harsh sentiment, Reza’s photos call their audience to see past the negatives and accept the immigrants as human beings.
Reza’s works focus on the homeless children living in Middle Eastern refugee 
camps. While it is easy to dismiss a suffering adult, a child in pain cannot be so easily ignored. He glamorizes their childhood in certain pictures by capturing the children while playing. It is easy for a viewer to relate to his own childhood in such pictures, and as such he recalls fond memories and develops a connection with the child in the photo. Later photos shock the audience by capturing the children at their low points- while performing physical labor or laying on the ground motionless. According to Reza, “[these] kids have lost the paradise every kid has.” Now in his state of shock, a viewer is more sensitive to the conditions refugees face and will be less likely to dismiss their rights as humans.
By forcing the public to see what the alternative is, perhaps Reza’s works will persuade Europeans to be more accepting of the current demographic shift from Syria. These immigrants are not criminals sneaking into a country. They are victims fleeing from one.
I really enjoyed this blog and even went on to read the article. I find it so cool that Reza takes the art form of photography and turns it into such an essential and critical tool. Reza is truly engaging the world directly to take notice at these inhumane conditions people live in. I for one totally agree with the message he is trying to put across, and the way in which he is doing so. I applaud Reza and hope he continues to have great success with such a meaningful project.
Photography is definitely a very powerful form of art to get someone’s message across because it is mostly used to capture a real moment for what it truly is. The Artist Reza uses his gift to capture moments that will tug at the audience’s hearts because they can see and feel what the children are going through. It’s difficult to listen to the news and empathize with the refugees. It’s easy to sympathize the little children in the pictures and want to help.
I really enjoyed your post. Reza is really good at making vivid images of uncomfortable truths that plague our modern world. My only criticism of his work is that I wish he was more solution orientated. I understand he is advocating for, as you put it, “Europeans to be more accepting of the current demographic shift from Syria,” but I wish his art reflected the positive repercussions of doing so. I digress, maybe optimistic art just speaks to me more personally.
It always amazes me how art can help people understand the point of view of someone else from another culture or background. Reza Deghati’s work is not only something you can admire but also something you can learn from. The photographs of the children help people to empathize with the Syrian refugees. Seeing the world from the refugees’ point of view, it may be easier for the Europeans to accept the huge amount of Syrian refugees.
I can totally relate to what was stated in this article because my parents came from Middle Eastern refugee camps, and that is where most of my extended family resides now. I’ve seen life there firsthand, and it’s not pretty. The way they live could probably be seen as a violation of some fundamental human right. Somehow, though, they make it work, and are actually pretty happy there. It’s the closest thing they have to home: all their family is with them and their neighborhood becomes a country of its own within a country.
I love when art, like photography, gives us something to think about. Reza’s photographs humanize the conflicts in Syria and remind us there are people living through the atrocities we are only witness to. I do question if having so many pictures centered on the refugee lifestyle and escape from Syria desensitizes viewers to these tragedies. I agree with Vincent that including an optimistic outlook on their life in Europe would add more depth and expand the story.
Reza Deghati has captured some of the strongest images of what I believe is the crisis of the century. What ISIS has done to the Middle East and its people is unspeakable. What they have done needs to be publicized in any way possible in order to gain support from the public to stop these monsters from creating any more chaos. I can only hope that the suffering of these children is not in vain and that they are soon able to live normal lives.
I think documentary photography in this case can change the fate of many immigrants, who have been so dehumanized. Politicians talk about the refugees as if they were a burden they need to carry instead of acknowledging they’re human beings. Photographs of children, especially, encourage the viewers to be empathetic. If every single person in first world countries donated even a dollar to help the refugees, it would make a huge difference. Instead of sitting around and waiting for our government to deal with the ‘problem,’ we could stand up for the refugees, who currently have no voice, and help them.
It’s situations like these that make me realize how fortunate I am. I can’t imagine the physical and mental pain these families are going through, leaving everything they know behind. And although it may disrupt Europe in a difficult economic time, I wish they would be a little more accepting of these people who are in desperate need. Even if the refugees can’t convince them to be more open, I hope that these powerful photos will.
Reza Deghati is doing an amazing and selfless job documenting the struggles so many Syrian refugees face. His photographs are not in the least pleasant to look at, but seeing the truth is not always pleasant. I recently watched a John Oliver video about the Migrant Crisis in Syria and I was appalled to see how little Europe and the rest of the world has done to try and help these refugees. Notions that refugees will somehow damage a country’s economy is illogical. Their incredible journeys to flee conflict and insecurity show how that they’re motivated, able-bodied and willing to work and support their families. It is amazing how art can teach us so much about ourselves and the world around us.
This article puts into our views the harsher reality of whats going on and what is currently happening. We often take for granted what we have and are blinded by media and end up not seeing the whole thing. Reza Deghati does an accexptional job in providing a better look and a different story. He ties his art to what people do not see. When we take pictures it often is of something or someone that we want to see and keep in our view, but Reza uses his photography to capture what people normally do not see. This article really helped me gain more knowledge on what the artists work is based on and the darker side of things going on today.
I think that your article is very well formatted and insightful. Before reading your article, I did not really understand the turmoil that was going on in Syria, but you managed to give a brief history on Syria’s internal struggle while connecting it back the original article which was great. In addition, I think that as a photographer, Reza, does a really good job in capturing the immigrant children in their primetime as well as at their lowest points. And the contrast between the photos also resinated with the audience because of its shock factor. Personally, I think that people in other countries always view the immigrants coming in as threats, but they are actually the ones that help the economy and the people of that country. The immigrants are the ones who are willing to take the less prestigious jobs that are heavily involved in manual labor. So I think think rather than viewing them as criminals, we as a whole should view them as helpers of the country.
We would think as human beings we would embrace anyone and everyone with open arms if it meant to protect them and bring them to safety. Unfortunately, as people have a lot going on in their own lives, they neglect to see the hurt and suffering that is going on around them. With Reza Deghati’s photography, viewers are faced head on with the pain that is endured by those fleeing the authorities in Syria. They can no longer hide from the fact. And, as Deghati recognized and used to his advantage, it does impact people more when they see innocent children in despair over adults. I think he makes his message clear in this collection of photographs and hopefully it can start a movement towards acceptance.