Venue: Finikoudes Promenade, Larnaca, Cyprus
A photographic exhibition entitled “Refugees: Real People, Real Needs”, organised by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), will be in Larnaca, the last leg of a tour of the island.
The Mayor of Larnaca Andreas Moiseos and the representative of the UNHCR in Cyprus will inaugurate the exhibition which will run from 18 August until 3 September, at the Finikoudes Promenade.
The exhibition consists mainly of a selection of the most powerful winning photos of World Press Photo (WPP), shedding light on the situations which create refugees. By putting a face behind the unknown masses of refugees, the UNHCR has said, the exhibition attempts to foster understanding and empathy, to fight prejudices and wrongly built stereotypes about people who were forced to flee their homelands and they are in need of international protection.
Faced with unabated violence, terrible human rights and humanitarian law abuses in their homelands millions of people are left without any other option than to flee while those who stay behind have to die or live in constant fear of their lives.
After embarking on perilous journeys in the sea or land, the challenge for those who make it into another country seeking protection is to start a new life, free from fear and oppression. Prejudices and negative stereotypes from the part of the hosting society will only exacerbate their plight. Receiving them as mere numbers, as a burden and at times as a threat cannot be the answer. Instead, giving them the opportunity to become part of the new society can only be beneficial for both refugees and the local society.
As financial times toughen, the hardest hit is on the most vulnerable groups, including refugees, who risk amongst other, higher levels of unreceptive attitudes. Now more than ever the need to inform and sensitise the public is present and calls for action. By putting a face behind the unknown masses of refugees, the exhibition will foster understanding and knowledge without which prejudices and wrongly built stereotypes will only get more enrooted.
Larnaca Mayor Andreas Moiseos told CNA on Tuesday that the exhibition touches on an issue for which the Cypriot people feel strongly about, as some 200 thousand people became refugees in their own homeland in the wake of the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus.
He said refugees have to deal with a very harsh reality, noting that people need to become enlightened about it and support refugees.
The photos on display mainly consist of a selection of the most impressive winning photos of World Press Photo (WPP) depicting situations which create refugees. WPP is an independent non-profit organization based in Amsterdam organizing the world’s largest and most prestigious annual press photography contest.
Also, a small selection of photos from the photographic exhibition “Protection: What Refugees Need” - launched last June at the House of Parliament – are also on display.
Within the framework of the open air photographic exhibition, artist Georgia Evagorou is the only Cypriot who participates with her wok in the exhibition.
Evagorou’s art-work is entitled «Labels are for clothes» won the first prize in a contest in 2008 “Ambassadors for Diversity», and sends a clear message against racism and against the isolation that all victims of racism are facing. Racism, expressed in various forms, “attaches labels” and places people in categories on the basis of their gender, colour, religion or sexual preferences. “Labels” in this project, are sewed on the human flesh and the intention is to transmit the message that racism is cruel and leads to the isolation of the people who have been the victims of any form of racism.
According to an UNHCR press release, Evagorou said “all people are equal regardless of their colour, belief and all people should be treated as equal”.
The exhibition has already run in Nicosia, Limassol and Paphos.