Oxford through my eyes
One of the photos from Asylum Welcome's Oxford through my eyes project. Click on the photo for a bigger version - and more on the photographer.
Oxford through the eyes of young asylum-seekers
Working with photographer Rory Carnegie and writer Nikki van der Gaag, some of Oxford’s young asylum seekers have produced photographs and text to illustrate their own views of the city. Here's a bit about the project, plus some of the resulting photos.
The curtains are always drawn in refugee households. Whether to shut out the cold or to escape prying eyes, they do not say. It is a challenge to go outside, to learn an unfamiliar currency, to buy different food, to face the eyes of the curious. For young people, who may be on their own for the first time in a strange country, it is doubly so. They have to fend for themselves, attempt to make friends, cook and shop and deal with the vast bureaucracy of applying to stay in this country. And all this often in an unfamiliar language.

Four of the five young men involved in this project are here on their own. All are 17 or under. Only two speak good English, though some speak a host of other languages. Most are part of Jigsaw club, Asylum Welcome’s project for young men. Not all wanted to be identified.

But all five approached the project with enthusiasm and humour. They enjoyed seeing parts of the city that they had never visited before, and learning to use a camera. They also enjoyed pointed out what they liked best – whether people, buildings or simply green spaces. By the end of the process they all had a good idea of the subjects they wanted to photograph.

At the beginning it was Rory who asked people if they minded having their photos taken, but often by the end the young men were asking permission themselves. And few people refused them, most responding with a smile.

When the prints came back, the teenagers chose their favourites and talked about them. They were all amazed by the quality and variety of what they had taken – as Aliyu put it: "I was blown away!" he said. We hope that you will be too. Click on any of the photos for a bigger version - and more on the photographers.

Sponsored by the Maggie Black Trust, Oxford City Council, and Fotonet South
Asylum Welcome, 276a Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1UR, tel 01865 722082, fax 01865 792532
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Click on any of the pictures below to get a bigger version - and some notes about the photographer - and why they took the photo.