Reportages
stories in the old school style
Mamma Tess
Teresa is a young Ghanese woman living in the capital Accra in dire circumstances, having hardly any living family members. She makes a living with her tea stall along the ring road of the capital. As she has no children of her own, she plays often with the neighbor children in the outskirts where she lives.
Rio de Janeiro
Despite the violence Rio de Janeiro( Brazil) is a human city. People in the favelas as well as in the centre know each other and protect each other from violence. Walking in the old town of Lapa is a pleasure. In the many bars the famous samba is being played. And during carnaval the whole city is transformed into a cosy party. In the bloques as they are called, the inhabitants of Rio gather together to celebrate life in a tender an happy way.
Kurdish Refugees
In 1991 the Iraqi Kurdish people fled form the brutal regime of Saddam Hoessein to the south of Turkey.
Tibetan Refugees
After the Chinese invasion in Tibet in the fifties, a ongoing stream of refugees have left Tibet. Most of them walk to Nepal over the high mountains of the Himalayas, a walk of about thirty days. They arrive in Bouddhanath, near Kathmandu. Often they also bring a visit to the Dalai Lama, who lives in Dharmasala, India. In this little village in the mountains a great number of Tibetans live. They try very hard to retain their age old buddhist culture.
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan, the Central Asiatic Republic, got independence in 1991. The perestrojka was short. The country is ruled by a dictator, while moslim countries want to gain more influence. (1993)
Life in Zaragoza (Spain)
Zaragoza is situated in Aragon, between Madrid and Barcelona. In the 80s, not many years after the Franco regime, the people had to find their new identity. In the bars of the provincial city I met people who described themselves as isolated and lonely, despite of the turbulent outgoing life.
Asian Moments
In 1978 I made a journey through Asia, from Turkey to Indonesia. I bought a Pentax SRL camera and three lenses and set off. In fact this trip meant the beginning of my photography but I did not realise that in those days.
