“I Am Not Your Animal” by Photographer Aline Deschamps
Aline Deschamps is a Thai-French photographer at this time primarily based in Beirut, Lebanon. Passionate about geopolitics and visible arts, Deschamps’ operate tackles social concerns these kinds of as id, exile, and cultural heritage. In her latest series, “I Am Not Your Animal,” she follows the each day life of Sierra Leonean migrant domestic workers she met in Beirut in 2020, documenting their ordeals in Beirut and their reintegration back into their homeland in 2022.
“The series’ title stems from the discussions I experienced with this group of women, most of whom experienced escaped from abusive households and had been victims of human trafficking,” Deschamps points out. “During the exchanges, all of them shared how significantly they felt dehumanized once they set foot in Lebanon. One sentence saved remaining recurring: ‘They did not treat me like a human, they treated me like an animal.’”
“‘I Am Not Your Animal’ aims to translate this intersectional encounter of becoming a black migrant lady in Lebanon, going through systemic racism in a state in which the black human body is frequently lowered to 1 position: the a single of a ‘servant’. It also wishes to translate a extra latent and individual violence: the one particular of becoming stranded in a international state, and of seeking to converse the unspeakable with the families again property. By juxtaposing these women’s letters with their daily daily life images, the job highlights their resilience identified in exile, the distressing reintegration into their culture, and the unbelievable bond of motherhood which enabled equally sacrifices and the obligation of survival – inspite of the length.”
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