Plight is the culmination of the hard work of a few passionate people.
In early 2016 I was a contributing member for the student generated online magazine, Peephole Magazine at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, California. Tasked with developing a story of my choosing, the European Refugee Crisis was all over the news so I felt it was a relevant topic to cover. I set out to find someone to interview who had either worked with refugees or had been a refugee themselves to better understand the situation and to educate others of these struggles.
My close friend and photographer, Santosh Korthiwada, helped with this project. We attended refugee transition seminars, emailed charities and called support organizations. Eight weeks went by and no one returned our calls; hope was fading. Having nearly dropped the project, we attended Friday Prayer at the Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California in Oakland, California for a separate project. Ahmad Rashid Salim, a spiritual leader in the Muslim community in the Bay Area conducted prayer and began his sermon. Rashid told the congregation that just a week before he had been in Greece volunteering at refugee camps. I suppose the universe was kind to us that day.
Rashid agreed to sit down for an interview and gave us heartbreaking insight into the personal accounts of refugees living in the camps in Greece. Stark living conditions, chronic sickness, discrimination and unbelievable human suffering are just a few of the harrowing details within Plight. The stories of individuals travels and the situations they escaped from are also covered. As Rashid himself was a refugee from Afghanistan, his personal connection to the refugees in Greece as a Muslim and as a refugee lends itself to the tone of the interview. The following images are excerpts from the article as well as the illustrations and photographs as they would appear in the online magazine.
Illustrations and Photography
The illustrations themselves were an exercise in subtly and restraint. I didn't want to create imagery that capitalized on the struggles of refugees or belittled it. I wanted to be sensitive and above all supportive for the people this article was trying to help. I settled on the stark imagery of a hastily abandoned home as a way to connect with the readers personally. The atmosphere evoked by the passing light from the window sought to reinforce the unsettling nature of the Crisis and the struggle. The colored animated GIF, in contrast, represented the hope and future of people displaced and disenfranchised by the Crisis.
What isn't achieved by my illustrations is made up for with Santosh's photography. Santosh is by far the most talented artist I've had the privilege to work with. The photos achieved a nuanced depth and narrative that gave the article tangibility. Furthermore, Rashid provided his own photographs that were taken while volunteering at the refugee camps, furthering the intensity of Plight.
These creative mediums are meant to give Plight the energy to reach people personally. To educate and help was the strongest intent of this project. In Ahmad Rashid Salim's own words,
"Spirituality is the action that's take in the streets to help the plight of those who are less fortunate and be the voice of those who don't have a voice."
The entire article can be found in Peephole Magazine which is downloadable on the Apple App Store or available upon request. Thank you for your time.
- David Henry Lantz
- David Henry Lantz
