” “ The immigrant As I was looking into my own understanding of freedom I simply had to photograph my mother. I understand freedom because of her everyday’s life, because I live my freedom through her sacrifices. My mother was living in two opposite worlds, Hong Kong and The Netherlands, where she felt alienated in…
Sameh Dwikat, Palestine
“freedom is the meaning of life. If we are born without it, we never really live.” During the summer of 2012 I (Najat el Hani) visited Israel and The Occupied Palestinian Territories for volunteering purposes. For the duration of almost one month I attended a program organized by the International Youth Exchange Program – Zajel at the An-Najah National University in Nablus,…
Elles Steinvoorte, Netherlands
“Being free is not having to do what you don’t want to do” EYES WIDE SHUT Wat kan ik zeggen over vrijheid als ik niet weet wat onvrijheden zijn? Mijn land is vrij, de maatschappij is tolerant tegen mij. Mijn enige vijand ben ik, in mijn eigen gedachten. Maar wat ervaar ik door de ogen…
Zakaria Ait Wakrim, Morocco
“freedom is the reverse side of responsibility. A feeling rather than an absolute fact and we are responsible for taking care of that.” Extract of Amarg ‘Amarg’ is the Amazigh (Berber) word for nostalgia, though it is also used to signify a hybrid form of musical poetry found in Southern Morocco. Southeastern Morocco presents a strange combination…
Our Story
[ scroll down for English ] Cultureel Antropologe Najat el Hani reist sinds 2010 door het Midden-Oosten en Noord Afrika om lokale (foto-) verhalen over vrijheid te verzamelen. Om aan deze bijzondere verhalen te komen probeerde ze zo dicht mogelijk bij het onderwerp te komen. Dit hield in dat ze in Petra (Jordanië) bij de…
Carol & Saskia Maarsen, Netherlands
“Durf de vader in zijn ogen te kijken en zeg dat je hoopt dat zijn kinderen je nooit meer zullen zien; zeg tegen de vrouw dat je geen medelijden hebt dat haar moeder op zee verdronken is. Kijk hen in de ogen en zeg het. ZEG HET” Het Surrealisme van Solidariteit Mijn zus Sas is…
Inbal Sophia Drue, Israel
“we should all be much more like plants and grow anywhere, together with other plants in the same flowerpot.” During the summer of 2016 I (Najat el Hani) attempted to visit Israel and The Occupied Palestinian Territories to meet two Freedom of Stories photographers, one of them was Inbal Sophia Drue. Sadly, I was not…
Aura Jgamadze, Netherlands
“ Aura works in the field of social justice and whenever possible, she captures not only the beauty she sees around her as she goes deeper than the aesthetics. At the moment she is diving deep into the connection between personal and collective development. She travels regularly between Finland and the Netherlands.” 1. This is…
El Mahdi Lyoubi, Morocco
“freedom is the ability to be yourself and move freely wherever and whenever you want” In 2013, I met 23 year old cinema student, rapper and photographer Mahdi Lyoubi for the first time while practicing a research period in Rabat. Morocco’s political centre and birth town of the 20 February movement that initiated the 2011…
Mohsin Amdaouech, Netherlands
“Ik leef sinds maart 2015 een droom. Een droom die ‘mijn wereldreis’ heet.” Vader & Zoon in Iran Over genieten gesproken, wat heb ik toch genoten van mijn tijd met mijn vader en mijn reis door Iran. De gesprekken over zijn leven, zijn enthousiaste ontmoetingen met wildvreemden, zijn kalme en relaxte houding vond ik geweldig….
Murad Abaza, Jordan
“freedom is truly lived by the ones who live the simplest.” ‘The challenges of freedom in Jordan are that its inhabitants are too critical and unaccepting of one and other, resulting in high societal pressures’. Murad describes this phenomenon as ‘Alorf’; unspoken cultural traditions followed by the Jordanians in order to not be excluded from…