honorable mention
Erin Lee Holland mexico
title
Idly at War
The hot, windy days carry on. The rains come and destroy their sand brick houses. They rebuild them. The Sahrawis pass the time drinking tea with their neighbours and tending to the few animals they have, without plants or water sources they remain completely dependent on humanitarian aid. They wait patiently for a diplomatic resolution to their conflict, one that receives less international attention every year.
There now exists a frustrated second generation of refugees who grew up in the camps with no direct observation of the war, desperate to take control of their own lives. The Sahrawis have a strong emphasis on education, boasting a literacy rate of 90% within the camps, and refugees also benefit from scholarships to higher education in Algeria, Cuba and Spain. Yet despite being well educated and politically active there are no prospects for work in the camps and their options outside remain severely limited.
Many of this generation have lost hope for a peaceful resolution and believe what was taken by force can only be restored by force.
My work applies environmental portraiture and landscapes to examine social issues, proposed in a way that challenges the traditional format of documentary photography.
My most recent projects are, Este Lado: collaborating with residents of northern border cities in Mexico, to analyse and deconstruct the stereotypes of U.S. / MX border culture. Also, Idly at War: a study of the increasing frustration among the second generation of Western Sahrawi refugees who grew up in camps with no direct observation of the war for their homeland.
My work has been published in countries within North America, South America, Europe and Oceania. I have exhibited in New York, Australia, Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela, Algeria and Portugal.
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entry description
For 42 years, thousands of Western Sahrawis have been living in refugee camps in the Algerian desert after fleeing the invasion and subsequent annexation by Morocco. The armed conflict between the Moroccan government and the Sahrawi people, led by the POLISARIO Front came to a halt in 1991 through a UN brokered ceasefire and the promise of a referendum for potential Sahrawi independence. This was stalled over disagreements on voter rights and never delivered.The hot, windy days carry on. The rains come and destroy their sand brick houses. They rebuild them. The Sahrawis pass the time drinking tea with their neighbours and tending to the few animals they have, without plants or water sources they remain completely dependent on humanitarian aid. They wait patiently for a diplomatic resolution to their conflict, one that receives less international attention every year.
There now exists a frustrated second generation of refugees who grew up in the camps with no direct observation of the war, desperate to take control of their own lives. The Sahrawis have a strong emphasis on education, boasting a literacy rate of 90% within the camps, and refugees also benefit from scholarships to higher education in Algeria, Cuba and Spain. Yet despite being well educated and politically active there are no prospects for work in the camps and their options outside remain severely limited.
Many of this generation have lost hope for a peaceful resolution and believe what was taken by force can only be restored by force.
about the photographer
I am Erin Lee originally from New Zealand. I am currently based in Mexico City where I work as an editorial and documentary photographer, and as a photography teacher.My work applies environmental portraiture and landscapes to examine social issues, proposed in a way that challenges the traditional format of documentary photography.
My most recent projects are, Este Lado: collaborating with residents of northern border cities in Mexico, to analyse and deconstruct the stereotypes of U.S. / MX border culture. Also, Idly at War: a study of the increasing frustration among the second generation of Western Sahrawi refugees who grew up in camps with no direct observation of the war for their homeland.
My work has been published in countries within North America, South America, Europe and Oceania. I have exhibited in New York, Australia, Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela, Algeria and Portugal.
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