In the city of Agrigento in Sicily, Jungleye and the photographer Carla Sutera Sardo brought together two polarised groups of teenagers, aged fifteen to seventeen. Some are Sicilian students in school. Others are migrants – trap- ped in the city’s Retention Center, they reached the coasts of Sicily following a dangerous and perilous journey crossing the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa.

For three weeks they worked on the topic of “Photofit”. This facial composite is typically used as an investigation tool by the law enforcement. Within the framework of the workshop, the Photofit technique was subverted in order to give a new identity to those who lost it while fleeing their country. Photography was then used as a tool for intercultural conflict resolution by opening up a dialogue about image and identity. This particular technique of portraiture was also a way to confront the obstacle regarding privacy rights for the unaccompanied youths.

The young, shared their stories by creating a whole new face scarred by photocollage. Using the eye of a Sicilian student, the nose of a Libyan migrant, and the mouth of their Senegalese friend, a new character appeared. Similarly to the game Exquisite Corpse, a magic story is collaboratively written, mixing their emotions with their memories and imagination. Ultimately conceiving a new identity.

In the city of Frankfurt in Germany, Jungleye association brought together two polarised groups of teenagers, aged between fourteen to seventeen. Some are German students in school. Others are migrants – asylum seekers, who have been in Germany for two years. They are currently involved in the slow process of integration to the local community.

For one week, they worked on the topic of « Photofit ». This facial composition was originally used as an investigation tool by law enforcement for facial regnition. Within the framework of the workshop the Photofit technique is subverted in order to give a new identity to those who felt they had lost it whilst fleeing their country: photographers deconstruct and then reconstruct the image of their face, to create a new ID. The photographs taken are then used as a tool for intercultural conflict resolution and social cohesion by allowing space for dialogue about image and identity. This particular technique of portraiture is also a way to confront obstacles regarding privacy rights for unaccompanied youth.

This facial mix and the process of creation through photo collages gave these two groups of teenagers the opportunity to connect on a constructive basis of exchanging ideas and impressions. A new character is created blending a stare, an Afghan nose, a Syrian-German mouth. In this activity, the mismatching and mistake are well received, emblematic of the merging of different cultures and at the same time of the scars of personal experiences. In Frankfurt, slowly the stories of participants combined and intertwined, and curiosity to learn from others experience fostered. Alike the game Exquisite Corpse, a new European identity is created in group, merging emotions, memories and imagination.

The atmosphere is heavy in the emergency housing facility (Centre d’hébergement d’urgence) in Ivry-sur-Seine, near Paris, where EMMAUS Solidarité hosts 430 people – families, single women and children alike. The Jungleye association organized a workshop where fifteen women aged 26 to 60 were invited to express themselves. They come from Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Syria, Iran, Bangladesh, Tibet, the Ivory Coast, Chad, or Romania, and are all going through the asylum procedure in Paris.

In the ten days of the workshop, our association explored with these women the portrait medium. The participants created facial composites, using in their own way the model of police sketches. Cutting down into pieces and rearranging photos of their faces, they created new ones as a homage to all the women victims of crimes and sexual abuse. Crumpled paper stands in the background.

“What is this shining paper”, Branni, a young Ethiopian woman, asks me as I am setting up the photo studio. Aminata, who came from the Ivory Coast with her daughter Yasmine shouts: “This looks like some paper I was using back home to wrap my daughter’s birthday presents”. This glittering paper also means a specific day for her – the day on which the “big boat” came to rescue Aminata, her five-month old baby and the hundreds of other people with her, as they were drifting off the Libyan coast on a dinghy. The survivors felt like they were being rolled into in some gift wrap. She explains: “They gave us a gift when they wrapped us in this glittering paper that felt warm – they gave us life.”

Our conversation has now started and so has the workshop. For Pema, a woman from Tibet, the colour of this first aid blanket is associated with Buddhist temples. She becomes nostalgic. She explains why she is with us today. Buddhists are repressed in Tibet. She had to flee her country to escape the persecutions of the Chinese army and protect her family.

At some point, we raise the issue of respect and I mention the recent #metoo movement. They start asking me questions: “What is a hashtag?.” A key word. What is #metoo, then? An awareness campaign to unite all the women that have been sexually abused and to let their voices be heard on the social media. Aminata says: “let’s not draw arbitrary lines. Men, too, are quite often raped and they are the ones who get shot for no reason. – She witnessed such situations in Niger and Lybia. – No one can escape the violence in exile. It’s true, though, that men or family pressure are often the reason why we run away from our land in the first place”.

Our workshop is inspired by art therapy and functions as a group therapy. Art becomes a psychological tool that initiates the healing of the inner self. Senses become awake, and these women of all ages and backgrounds look at each other and cry – with their eyes. They feel and breathe – with their noses. They listen and understand – with their ears. They shout and denounce – with their mouths.

This is a workshop dedicated to women. New, imperfect, faces have been created – bits and pieces that were pieced together. Around the eyes, along the lips, the shining paper has revealed some scars. They were made at home, in exile, and here.

Based on UNICEF’s 2016 Baseline Survey, it is estimated that child labour currently affects some 100,000 children in Lebanon. While the number of Lebanese children involved in child labour has tripled between 2009 and 2016, this project comes as an advocacy tool against child labour to prevent exploitation of vulnerable children in the streets.

Due to the high security status of the neighbourhood, we created a unique space for the children to escape from the noisy streets of Jnah area (South suburbs of Beirut) by using a chroma keying photobooth. In the ten days of the workshop, 15 children explored photography tools to realise their dream work. The conversation started: “What would you like to do when you grow up?” While Mohammed got rid of his roses to wear the costume of an astronaut, Maram put her broom aside to become a hairdresser.

In April 2019, Jungleye conducted a Roboteca workshop for Streets and Working Children (SaWC)* of Beirut in collaboration with Lucciana Baradhi, Lebanese illustrator. This project was implemented in partnership with Makhzoumi Foundation and Les Enfants de le Méditerranée (LEM) and funded by UNHCR and the European Union.

Get down to work is the reality of their daily routine catching up on their dreams. Shahira shared the story of her friend from school who is now working in the market down her street, Youssef told us about the first day he changed the tire of a motorbike and Ahmed explained to us how to repair our smartphones.

Subverting the technique of photo portraits, children created facial composites, that was first used as an investigation tool by law enforcement. This type of photo collage was also a way to confront the issue of photography consent that was not always given by the parents. The children cut down into pieces and rearranged photos of their faces as an homage to all working children who are deprived of their childhood. The green background of the portraits place these stories in a general context as a reminder that the phenomenon of working children exists in many countries.

Choosing the right words to write their stories, children started the dialogue about the impact of child labour, the deprivation of childhood and education. We identified through their stories four main factors that push children to work on Lebanese streets: social exclusion, vulnerability of households, arrival of Syrian refugees in Lebanon and exploitation of children.

* SaWC: Children (0-17) earning their living through working on the street either by selling products, begging, or collecting products from the street. SaWC are considered at high risk as they are involved in the worst forms of child labor as identified by the International Labour Organization.