The hidden focus

by Luca Catalano Gonzaga
Part of Child survival in a changing climate
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In the Dadaab refugees camp the first step to providing refugees with food and water is identifying them. In the suffocating heat of the tent, newly arrived women, children and elderly people go thru photo identification. Their faces are then put on a badge. This badge entitles them access to food rations. These portraits were taken by Luca Catalano Gonzaga during their formal photographing session. Embarrassment, shame, surprise and tears show both fears and hopes of forgotten humanity. (text by Luca Catalano Gonzaga).

  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. Shawls have to be removed in order to allow a proper identification.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. Too exhausted to oppose to the removal of her headscarf. Not being registered means not receiving any food nor healthcare.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. A scared girl is brought before the UNHCR photographer.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. Six pairs of eyes watch their young mother being photographed. This family has just arrived and is ready to receive a badge that entitles them to access to food rations. Three quarters of the camp population are children under the age of 12, women and elderly people.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. The mother lovingly helps her daughter to get ready for the snapshot.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. A fascinated gaze towards the camera, when curiosity beats fright. Their pictures will be put on a badge that entitles them access to food rations.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. A resilient elderly couple has managed to endure the journey towards Dadaab on their own.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. Scared by the UNHCR camera but tenderly observed by his father.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. A Somali refugee who fled alone. This image tells a story of people fleeing their homelands, and then individuals become numbers, mouths to feed, food rations to distribute.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. Trying to understand what kind of device is being held in front of her.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. A boy accepts to have his picture taken, with the silent support of his father.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. A perplexed look at the camera, never seen before.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. Focusing on the pointed finger, instead of the camera.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. A camera held by a stranger can be very scary for a young child.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. A child in panic during the identification.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. The tough journey endured is reflected on the mother’s gaze.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. The mother is photographed first, followed by the puzzled father, then the eldest daughter and her siblings.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. For undocumented refugees, identification becomes necessary to access basic services in refugee camps.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. A mother, slightly suspicious, and her crying child, are about to be photographed.
  • Dadaab refugee camp, Kenya 2011. A child in amazement during identification.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. Paying attention to and following the instructions given by the UNHCR registration team. Many children are born in the refugee camp and have no experience at all about life outside the camp.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. The father is the first one to face the camera, while her wife and their children wait for their turn.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. A child in panic during the identification.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. Two brothers are photographed by the UNHCR registration team.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. Getting ready before being photographed.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. Waiting for the right moment to photograph, as soon as the baby stops crying.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. A family ready to be photographed and become official refugees.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. An embarrassed mother and her curious child.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. Getting ready before being photographed.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. The children have spotted the focus of the camera.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. Facing a camera for the first time without having been briefed about the registration process.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. A child in panic during the identification.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. Staring at her mother, who is about to be photographed.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. Surprisingly, a child appears under the mother’s mantle.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. Child is getting ready to be photographed.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. Attempting to grab the attention of three generations.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. The UNHCR photographer attempts to keep this young man’s eyes open.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. The girls stare at the photographer before deciding whether to trust him or not.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. Having just arrived on his own, a very tired and half blind man.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. Adjusting her dress before the snapshot. This woman has escaped drought, famine, violence and has waited for a long time in front of UNHCR Registration site.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. Father and son await their turn.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. Children are getting ready to be photographed.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. This family has just arrived and is ready to be photographed; receiving a badge gives them access to food rations.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. Children are getting ready to be photographed.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. Entering the registration tent, a mother and her eldest daughter start taking their shawls off.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. A father tries to calm his daughter down as she doesn’t want to be photographed. This image tells a story of desperate people fleeing their homelands. People become numbers and their identity is reduced to a badge.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. Waiting for the mother to take her mantle off, and then do likewise. Their faces are put on a badge that entitles refugees access to food rations.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. Children are getting ready to be photographed. On average, 1,300 people who survived the long journey from Somalia are welcomed every day; 80% of them are women and children.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. A mother reveals her son who is protected by her mantle, so he can be photographed by the UNHCR registration team.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. Children are getting ready to be photographed.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. Getting ready before being photographed.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. Frightened by the camera but still, next to her older sister. Once in Dadaab camp, refugees are photographed for identification purposes.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. An awkward brother observes his sister taking her mantle off.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. An entire family waiting to be photographed.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. A family ready to be photographed and become official refugees. People arrive at the camp after having marched for days in the suffocating African heat.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. The UNHCR operator is trying to position the child’s face towards the camera.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. Unexpectedly, for registration purposes, the mantles must be taken off. A long silent queue waiting for registration photo. No one smiles, no one speaks to anyone else, no one pushes ahead.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. Raising the mantle, a mother holds on to her crying baby.
  • Dadaab Refugee Camp, Kenya 2011. The eldest of three sisters is also the timidest one. Photo identification is the first step to providing refugees with food.

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