Stories of African immigration and integration in Switzerland

(a project by Francesco Arese Visconti/Webster University)

At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century an important flux of Europeans migrated to America, the “New World.” In the 20th and the 21st century we witnessed the inverse; an important migrant flow of immigrants to the “Old World.”

Our interest in immigration, reinforced by the recent influx of new immigrants to Switzerland following the African revolutions, drives this research project.

Portrait of the Zayan family (Egypt) – click to see the photo gallery

An impressive migrant flow to Europe has been happening since the revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria and Libya. Immigration from Africa is not a new phenomenon. This led us to question the process of immigration and the immigrants’ experiences of it.

Do immigrants now find the process of immigration easier due to the influx of the revolutions or has the process remain unchanged? Once settled, what are immigrants’ experiences of integration and feelings regarding Swiss society and culture? Where do the difficulties arise for said immigrants?

Elena Okondo from Kenya – click to see the photo gallery

Is it necessary or even desirable to adopt and share traditional Swiss values, behaviors and culture? How is it possible to adapt to a new culture while maintaining a sense of one’s traditional beliefs, values and culture? Or are immigrants meant to leave their traditional values at the door to Switzerland?

Research method:

1 – Interviews

Ivan Iga, Webster University Geneva Senior Media Communications major, conducted the interviews with immigrants who came to Switzerland from a variety of African countries. These interviews have been recorded and will later be used for a photo-book publication.

2 – Photographs

Francesco Arese Visconti, Webster University Geneva Photography Program Coordinator, photographed the subjects providing visual documentation of their experiences.

Visconti’s collection of portraits and interviews tells the story of the long, and often complicated, process of Swiss immigration from the subject’s point of view. Visconti chose to do portrait photos of immigrants in their work or home environments as a way to let the context speak to viewers regarding the relative success or failure of their integration in Switzerland. The portraits  and the interviews were structured in such a way as to let the immigrants have a voice.

Photographs have been taken with a traditional medium format camera on 6×7 color negative film. The negatives have been scanned and fine art digital images have been printed.

3 – Goals

Marie Louise CAMEROON – click here to see the photo gallery

The research is guided by our intention to raise the global awareness on the topic of immigration and integration in Switzerland from Africa. Understanding the immigration process from the subject’s perspective is essential if Swiss authorities are to draft effective immigration policies. Policies that will neither obstruct the the rights of immigrants, nor subject Swiss citizen to excessive demands, will need to be implemented.

A book with all the photographs and the interviews will be printed by the end of February 2013.

Three photo exhibitions have been planned:

– at the Photofolies photo festival in Touraine (France), September 21st-23rd (www.photo-en-touraine.org);

– at the Salon des Artistes Indépendants at the Geneva Palexpo, November 15th-18th (www.palexpo.ch).

– at the Université Ouvrière in Geneva, February 21st (www.uog.ch);

For more info check http://newworldproject.wordpress.com

——

NEW WORLD

Storie di immigrazione ed integrazione africana in Svizzera

(un progetto di Francesco Arese Visconti/Webster University)

Francesco Arese-Visconti, Coordinatore del Programma di Fotografia e ricercatore di Webster University Ginevra, ha coordinato un’interessante ricerca fotografica riguardante gli immigrati che sono giunti in Svizzera da diversi paesi africani. La ricerca (anche attraverso queste immagini) offre così una documentazione visiva delle loro esperienze e contribuisce alla comprensione del fenomeno migratorio in Svizzera. Ecco la sintesi del lavoro e la metodologia adottata. E’ un bellissimo esempio di come la fotografia sociale aiuti a capire meglio la realtà che ci circonda. Antonio Amendola

—

Alla fine del XIX secolo e all’inizio del XX secolo un importante flusso migratorio di Europei si è mosso verso l’America, verso il “nuovo mondo”. Nel XX e nel XXI secolo abbiamo visto accadere un movimento contrario: dai paesi del cosiddetto terzo mondo verso l’Europa, “il Vecchio mondo”.

A guidare il nostro progetto di ricerca è Il nostro interesse per l’immigrazione, accentuato dai recenti flussi di nuovi migranti in Svizzera dovuti alle rivoluzioni nei paesi Africani.

Una impressionante migrazione verso l’Europa si è verificata dopo le rivoluzioni in Tunisia, Egitto, Algeria e Libia del 2011. L’immigrazione dall’Africa non è un fenomeno nuovo. Tutto questo ci ha portato ad investigare il processo migratorio e l’esperienza fatta dai migranti.

Gli immigrati di oggi trovano il processo di migrazione più facile dopo le rivoluzioni oppure le cose non sono cambiate? Una volta stabilitisi nel paese ospitante, quali sono le esperienze di integrazione ed i sentimenti nei confronti della società e della cultura svizzera? Quali difficoltà sono state affrontate?

Ivonne SOUTH AFRICA – cliccare qui per la galleria fotografica

È necessario o addirittura augurabile che si adottino i valori tradizionali svizzeri, la cultura ed i comportamenti? Come è possibile adattarsi alla nuova cultura mantenendo allo stesso tempo le tradizioni, il comportamento e la cultura del proprio paese d’origine? Oppure si dà per scontato che i migranti abbandonino i loro valori tradizionali appena varcati i confini della Svizzera?

Metodo di ricerca:

1 – Interviste

Ivan Iga, studente di Media Communications di Webster University Ginevra, ha condotto le interviste con gli immigrati che sono giunti in Svizzera da diversi paesi africani. Le interviste raccolte verranno utilizzate per la pubblicazione del libro.

2 – Fotografie

Mohamed Shawesh from Libya – cliccare qui per la galleria fotografica

Francesco Arese-Visconti, Coordinatore del Programma di Fotografia e ricercatore di Webster University Ginevra, ha fotografato le persone offrendo così una documentazione visiva delle loro esperienze.

La raccolta di ritratti di Arese-Visconti ci racconta la storia lunga e spesso complicata del processo di immigrazione dal punto di vista del soggetto fotografato. Arese-Visconti ha scelto di ritrarre le persone nel posto di lavoro o a casa per far si che il contesto ci raccontasse i relativi successi o fallimenti della loro integrazione in Svizzera. Le interviste ed i ritratti sono strutturati in modo tale da poter dar voce agli immigrati.

Le fotografie sono state eseguite con una fotocamera tradizionale medio-formato 6×7 su negativo colore successivamente scansionato e stampato su carta fine-art inkjet con stampanti Epson.

3 – Obiettivi

La ricerca è guidata dalla nostra intenzione di attirare l’attenzione sul tema dell’immigrazione in Svizzera dall’Africa. Capire il processo dell’immigrazione dal punto di vista dell’immigrato è essenziale al fine che le politiche governative sull’immigrazione siano effettive.

Un libro con le fotografie e le interviste sarà pubblicato entro la fine di Febbraio 2013 da Aiòn Edizioni, Firenze.

Tre mostre fotografiche sono state organizzate al momento:

– al foto festival Photofolies en Touraine (Francia), 21 – 23 Settembre 2012 (www.photo-en-touraine.org);

– al Salone degli Artisti Indipendenti al Palexpo di Ginevra dal 15 al 18 Novembre 2012 (www.palexpo.ch);

– all’Université Ouvrière di Ginevra, da 21 Febbraio al 23 Marzo 2013 (http://uog.ch/fr/articles/index/155).

Per maggiori informazioni consultare il blog http://newworldproject.wordpress.com

Lo spirito dei piccoli popoli del sud

Lo straordinario incontro con gli uomini e con le tribù delle terre del sud dell’India

(cliccare per il video racconto)

Oggi presentiamo un libro molto bello, che parla di un viaggio, di popolazioni poco conosciute e degli operatori e volontari che lottano per dar loro opportunità per una vita migliore. Il libro contribuisce ad una raccolta fondi per l’attività della onlus SEMI ed è quindi ancora più importante.

Il libro è, infatti, un omaggio alle popolazioni dell’Andhra Pradesh, alla loro cultura e alla loro umanità. Tribù e villaggi rurali nel sud dell’India, capi villaggio, leaders religiosi, politici e carismatici, uomini e donne di tutte le caste, impegnati in un processo di organizzazione e collaborazione comunitaria che coinvolge tutti gli abitanti delle piccole realtà locali in maniera integrata e partecipativa. La nascita, la crescita e lo sviluppo delle piccole comunità gandhiane locali e dei gruppi spontanei di microcredito solidale che con il loro lavoro e con la collaborazione sostengono lo sviluppo condiviso di tutto il villaggio. L’opera è un contributo a tutti gli uomini e alle donne che come operatori e come beneficiari sono impegnati nei programmi SEMI e Arbor in India e si propone di sensibilizzare e di far conoscere la situazione di queste popolazioni e permettere la raccolta di fondi per il loro presente per la loro esistenza futura. Grazie al loro amore e al loro impegno la miseria delle popolazioni dell’Andhra è una fatica meno pesante da affrontare ed ogni mattina molti possono iniziare una nuova giornata con un’opportunità concreta per una vita di autentica dignità. Le immagini sono state scattate dal fotografo reporter Maurizio Gijvovich nel corso delle sue spedizioni in Andhra Pradesh, i testi sono stati scritti da Luca Streri nel corso degli anni durante il suo cammino con le popolazioni dell’Andhra nell’ambito del programma Arbor e delle attività del SEMI in India. Per ordinare il libro: www.semionlus.com www.gjivovich.com  AA ———-

The spirit of the small peoples of the South

THE EXTRAORDINARY ENCOUNTER WITH THE PEOPLE OF THE TRIBE OF SOUTH LANDS OFINDIA

This is a story about a book, a fundraising undertaking, a long ignored Population in a remote area of India and marvellous volunteers that bring relief and try to give a new hope.

This book is a tribute to the people of Andhra Pradesh (India), their culture and their humanity.

Tribes and villages in rural southern India, village chiefs, religious and politicians charismatic leaders, men and women of all castes, in a process of community organization and collaboration involving all the inhabitants of the small local communities on integrated and participatory basis.

The birth, growth and development of small local communities towards Gandhian grassroots groups and cohesive microcredit, their work and collaboration to support the shared development of the whole village.

The book is a contribution to all men and women committed as agents of change and as beneficiaries in programs at Semi and Arbor inIndia; it aims to increase awareness and to make known the situation of these populations and to allow the collection of funds for their present to their future existence. Thanks to their love and commitment the misery of the people of Andhra is less heavy and a pain to face and every morning many can start a new day with a real opportunity for a life of true dignity.

The images were taken by photographer and reporter Maurizio Gijvovich during his expeditions in Andhra Pradesh, the texts were written by Luca Streri over the years during his journey with the people of Andhra under the Semi program and Arbor activitiesIndia.

To order the book:

www.semionlus.com

www.gjivovich.com

  [english below]

Lo spirito dei piccoli popoli del sud

Lo straordinario incontro con gli uomini e con le tribù delle terre del sud dell’India

(cliccare per il video racconto)

Oggi presentiamo un libro molto bello, che parla di un viaggio, di popolazioni poco conosciute e degli operatori e volontari che lottano per dar loro opportunità per una vita migliore. Il libro contribuisce ad una raccolta fondi per l’attività della onlus SEMI ed è quindi ancora più importante.

Il libro è, infatti, un omaggio alle popolazioni dell’Andhra Pradesh, alla loro cultura e alla loro umanità. Tribù e villaggi rurali nel sud dell’India, capi villaggio, leaders religiosi, politici e carismatici, uomini e donne di tutte le caste, impegnati in un processo di organizzazione e collaborazione comunitaria che coinvolge tutti gli abitanti delle piccole realtà locali in maniera integrata e partecipativa. La nascita, la crescita e lo sviluppo delle piccole comunità gandhiane locali e dei gruppi spontanei di microcredito solidale che con il loro lavoro e con la collaborazione sostengono lo sviluppo condiviso di tutto il villaggio. L’opera è un contributo a tutti gli uomini e alle donne che come operatori e come beneficiari sono impegnati nei programmi SEMI e Arbor in India e si propone di sensibilizzare e di far conoscere la situazione di queste popolazioni e permettere la raccolta di fondi per il loro presente per la loro esistenza futura. Grazie al loro amore e al loro impegno la miseria delle popolazioni dell’Andhra è una fatica meno pesante da affrontare ed ogni mattina molti possono iniziare una nuova giornata con un’opportunità concreta per una vita di autentica dignità. Le immagini sono state scattate dal fotografo reporter Maurizio Gijvovich nel corso delle sue spedizioni in Andhra Pradesh, i testi sono stati scritti da Luca Streri nel corso degli anni durante il suo cammino con le popolazioni dell’Andhra nell’ambito del programma Arbor e delle attività del SEMI in India. Per ordinare il libro: www.semionlus.com/books www.gjivovich.com AA ———-

The spirit of the small peoples of the South

THE EXTRAORDINARY ENCOUNTER WITH THE PEOPLE OF THE TRIBE OF SOUTH LANDS OFINDIA

This is a story about a book, a fundraising undertaking, a long ignored Population in a remote area of India and marvellous volunteers that bring relief and try to give a new hope.

This book is a tribute to the people of Andhra Pradesh (India), their culture and their humanity.

Tribes and villages in rural southern India, village chiefs, religious and politicians charismatic leaders, men and women of all castes, in a process of community organization and collaboration involving all the inhabitants of the small local communities on integrated and participatory basis.

The birth, growth and development of small local communities towards Gandhian grassroots groups and cohesive microcredit, their work and collaboration to support the shared development of the whole village.

The book is a contribution to all men and women committed as agents of change and as beneficiaries in programs at Semi and Arbor inIndia; it aims to increase awareness and to make known the situation of these populations and to allow the collection of funds for their present to their future existence. Thanks to their love and commitment the misery of the people of Andhra is less heavy and a pain to face and every morning many can start a new day with a real opportunity for a life of true dignity.

The images were taken by photographer and reporter Maurizio Gijvovich during his expeditions in Andhra Pradesh, the texts were written by Luca Streri over the years during his journey with the people of Andhra under the Semi program and Arbor activitiesIndia.

To order the book:

www.semionlus.com/books

www.gjivovich.com

[This project was named Non-Traditional Photojournalism Publishing Project of the Year and the project’s short film won an Emmy]

 I first saw Jenn Ackerman’s story, TRAPPED, featured on PDN and was immediately drawn to it. I was captivated, not only by her incredibly evocative images of stark prison cells, isolation, and psychosis but also by the concept behind them. Mental illness in American prisons is unfamiliar ground to most and although I was aware of it, I had never seen it up close. Jenn has the unbelievable ability to make the viewer feel as if they are right there with her. She did what many of us could not and confronted a growing issue within our correctional facilities. The number of mentally ill inmates is staggering, in her article she quotes Sergeant Jeremy Rioux, “It’s a thin line between mental health and security.”

Grace Roth/S4C New York City

(click to see the photgallery)

The continuous withdrawal of mental health funding has turned jails and prisons across the U.S. into the default mental health facilities. The system designed for security is now trapped with treating mental illness and the mentally ill are often trapped inside the system with nowhere else to go.

My intention was to make photos that forced the viewer to feel what I felt when I was inside the prison. There were days that I was extremely scared and others that I left thinking how much someone on the outside missed them. Some days, I had to remind myself that many of these men had done heinous things. There were also days when I was reminded that some of these men have faded into the system with no hope of getting out.

(click to see the photo gallery)

I saw them cry. I saw them hit themselves so hard in the head that they bled. I saw them throw their feces at the officers. I saw a world most people don’t even know exists in America.

The project portrays the daily struggle inside the walls of the unit redesigned to treat mental illness and maintain the level of security required in a prison. The photos take viewers into an institution where the criminally insane are sometimes locked up in their cells for 23 hours a day with nothing to occupy their minds but their own demons.

Jenn Ackerman

———-

Who’s Jenn Ackerman

We are really delighted to introduce you Jen Ackerman.

Jen is a photographer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She received a bachelor’s degree in social research from James Madison University, studied photography at the Danish School of Journalism and most recently, she received a master’s degree in visual communications from Ohio University.

Her focus has been on subcultures in the United States that are often misunderstood and overlooked including mental illness in prison, HIV in rural America, and families living in Appalachia.

Jen likes to work in intimate settings and bring viewers into situations and stories that rarely are told.

In 2012, she was named to PDN’s 30 New and Emerging Photographers to Watch. Her photographs has been recognized by the Inge Morath Award, Magnum Expression Award, CENTER Project Competition, Photojournalism Competition on Human Rights, Emerging Photographer Fund, the PGB Photo Award, the Honickman First Book Prize and others. In 2009, she was published in the Communication Arts Photography Annual and named to Photolucida’s Critical Mass Top 50.

Her multimedia and video have been recognized with an honorable mention for a Webby and a Telly and two of her short films have been screened at film festivals around the country. One of her most recent projects, Trapped, was named Non-Traditional Photojournalism Publishing Project of the Year and the project’s short film won an EmmyA Story by Jenn Ackerman (read below her bio)

[This project was named Non-Traditional Photojournalism Publishing Project of the Year and the project’s short film won an Emmy]

I first saw Jenn Ackerman’s story, TRAPPED, featured on PDN and was immediately drawn to it.  I was captivated, not only by her incredibly evocative images of stark prison cells, isolation, and psychosis but also by the concept behind them.  Mental illness in American prisons is unfamiliar ground to most and although I was aware of it, I had never seen it up close.  Jenn has the unbelievable ability to make the viewer feel as if they are right there with her.  She did what many of us could not and confronted a growing issue within our correctional facilities.  The number of mentally ill inmates is staggering, in her article she quotes Sergeant Jeremy Rioux, “It’s a thin line between mental health and security.”

Grace Roth/S4C New York City

(click to see the photgallery)

The continuous withdrawal of mental health funding has turned jails and prisons across the U.S. into the default mental health facilities. The system designed for security is now trapped with treating mental illness and the mentally ill are often trapped inside the system with nowhere else to go.

My intention was to make photos that forced the viewer to feel what I felt when I was inside the prison. There were days that I was extremely scared and others that I left thinking how much someone on the outside missed them. Some days, I had to remind myself that many of these men had done heinous things. There were also days when I was reminded that some of these men have faded into the system with no hope of getting out.

(click to see the photo gallery)

I saw them cry. I saw them hit themselves so hard in the head that they bled. I saw them throw their feces at the officers. I saw a world most people don’t even know exists in America.

The project portrays the daily struggle inside the walls of the unit redesigned to treat mental illness and maintain the level of security required in a prison. The photos take viewers into an institution where the criminally insane are sometimes locked up in their cells for 23 hours a day with nothing to occupy their minds but their own demons.

Jenn Ackerman

———-

Who’s Jenn Ackerman

We are really delighted to introduce you Jen Ackerman.

Jen is a photographer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She received a bachelor’s degree in social research from James Madison University, studied photography at the Danish School of Journalism and most recently, she received a master’s degree in visual communications from Ohio University.

Her focus has been on subcultures in the United States that are often misunderstood and overlooked including mental illness in prison, HIV in rural America, and families living in Appalachia.

Jen likes to work in intimate settings and bring viewers into situations and stories that rarely are told.

In 2012, she was named to PDN’s 30 New and Emerging Photographers to Watch. Her photographs has been recognized by the Inge Morath Award, Magnum Expression Award, CENTER Project Competition, Photojournalism Competition on Human Rights, Emerging Photographer Fund, the PGB Photo Award, the Honickman First Book Prize and others. In 2009, she was published in the Communication Arts Photography Annual and named to Photolucida’s Critical Mass Top 50.

Her multimedia and video have been recognized with an honorable mention for a Webby and a Telly and two of her short films have been screened at film festivals around the country. One of her most recent projects, Trapped, was named Non-Traditional Photojournalism Publishing Project of the Year and the project’s short film won an Emmy