UPDATED
A Photo Exhibition by Alixandra Fazzina,
Dates: April 15-May 15, 2011
Venue: Nairobi National Museum
Time: 8:30am to 5:30pm. Daily
Entrance: Museum rates apply.
Across the horn of Africa, war, abuse and poverty make millions miserable and drive thousands to attempt to flee. With land borders cut off or closed, and surrounded by conflict on all sides, one of the only means of escape is by sea.
The exhibition follows the journey of desperate emigrants, or tahrib, to their embarkation points with smugglers on the coast of Somalia, on a perilous voyage across the Gulf of Aden, and onward in the search for a better life. The cost is just $ 50, or one million Somali Shillings. With a one in twenty chance of not making it to the other side alive, it is a price they must risk their lives for. Even then, it is a journey which will remain unfinished.
Biography
Alixandra Fazzina’s Photography focuses on under-reported conflict and the often forgotten humanitarian consequences of war. Studying Fine Art, She began her career as a war artist in Bosnia. Since then she has worked independently as a photojournalist throughout Eastern Europe, Africa, The Middle East & Asia. Her reportages have been widely published in the British and International press including The Sunday Times, The Guardian and Observer, The Telegraph and The Independent as well as TIME, Newsweek, The New York Times and Stern. She works regularly with UN agencies and NGO’s such as MSF, Concern, Oxfam, Save The Children and Human Rights Watch, to document their work and produce advocacy campaigns.
Alixandra Fazzina worked over a period of two years to chronicle the exodus of migrants and refugees from Somalia to the Arab Peninsula. The resulting book ‘A Million Shillings-Escape from Somalia’ was published by Trolley in 2010. Foe her work in Somalia, she was a finalist in CARE Award for Humanitarian Reportage and W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography and was last year recognized as the winner of the UNCHR Nansen Refugee Award for her striking coverage of the devastating human consequences of war.
Currently based in Pakistan, Alixandra Fazzina is a Member of NOOR Images, an international Photo agency whose mission is to contribute to a growing understanding of the world by producing independent in-depth visual reports.
PS: Alixandra Fazzina’s book: ‘A Million Shillings-Escape from Somalia’ is displayed at the exhibition.
