Veronica Otero

Two years has passed since she was forced to flee her homeland, Turkey, as a consequence of experiencing arrests and continuous harassment. She constantly feels the hardship of this reality combined with extreme loneliness and grief… powerful enduring emotions that leave indelible marks on her memories. In March 2019, she could finally reunite with her mother and other siblings on person. This brief visit took place in a country that is none of them their home but “the closest to a home” as Zozan says during the interview, Iraq-Kurdistan. The photographic series of 36 photographs was taken over only a couple of days. On the accompanying captions, Zozan shares painful memories and experiences and her own reflections on how leaving her family, country and culture of birth in order to seek a safer life in the UK is affecting her. By integrating intimacy while drawing explicit attention to the role of emotions, this project explores questions on the interrelationship between emotional narratives of separation across contexts of migration experiences. How are emotions taken into account by different actors, from policy developers, administrators and public attitudes to the migrants, refugees and asylum seekers? What tools exist to help stabilize and address mental wellbeing of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees? Is there really a space to consider emotions?

Family Encounter by Veronica Otero

April 3, 2020March 26, 2021

Family Encounter: together we share an emotional burden This photographic project documents Zozan Yasar, a 29-year-old Kurdish woman, on her first family encounter. Two years have passed since she was forced to flee her homeland,… Read More »Family Encounter by Veronica Otero