Essays and Features

Hong Kong has 300,000 migrant domestic workers, half of whom come from Indonesia. The vast majority are young women employed by families as caregivers to children and the elderly. Many face exploitation at the hands of unscrupulous recruitment agencies, loan companies and employers. Despite a wealth of evidence from the UN, ILO and human rights organisations, the Government of Hong Kong refuses to acknowledge the scale of the problem and its role in exasperating the situation. In response, Indonesian migrant domestic workers have organised themselves to fight for their rights through forming trade unions and protest. Much of this work is done during the one statutory day-off they receive, and takes place in and around Victoria Park on Hong Kong Island. (by Robert Godden)

http://www.rightsexposureproject.com/indonesia-migrant-domestic-workers

Robert Godden is a photographer and human rights activist. Formerly with Amnesty International, he is the founder of the Rights Exposure Project which brings together a range of audio-visual professionals with local knowledge and international experience. Their region of specialization is Asia, with thematic expertise in migrant workers rights & trafficking for labour exploitation and forced labour. 

Over a million Syrians have fled the civil war in their country, with most seeking refuge in neighbouring Lebanon. They have set up temporary homes and, despite the hardships, try to lead normal daily lives. Giulio Rimondi photographed their shelters, which underline their very dire circumstances. 

https://lfi-online.de/ceemes/en/blog/photo-stories/giulio-rimondi-transient-home-675.html

Published in LFI – Leica Fotografie International Magazine 03/2015

Giulio Rimondi is a photo journalist who lives between Italy and Beirut. He has contributed to international publications like The New York Times-Lens, Le Monde, Repubblica and a number of other european and middle easter newspapers and magazines.

http://giuliorimondi.com/index.html

‘FOUND Cambodia’ is a project that traces some of the sociocultural changes Cambodia has witnessed since 1979. It is a constantly growing archive of everyday Cambodian photography, brought to light from individuals’ and families’ drawers, albums, and closets.  The images provide a vernacular lens to how individuals in post-Khmer Rouge Cambodia have experienced the social and cultural revival following the regime’s fall.

‘FOUND Cambodia’ serves as a visual archive for anyone interested in understanding societal changes through the eyes of an individual.

http://foundcambodia.com

New images will be added to this page when they are found. For updates please follow the site or on twitter.

Charles Fox is a British born photographer currently based in Cambodia and has been working in Asia since 2005. He has a degree in Photojournalism from the London College of Communications and is part of Getty Global Assignments.

For Far from Home, Belgian photographer An-Sofie Kesteleyn shadows eleven-year-old Yuna, a Japanese girl living in Tsu National Hospital, where she is treated for obesity alongside four other young women.

The photographer was drawn to Japan in part for its reputation for healthy living and the recent influx of fast food restaurants into the country. After researching obesity in Japan, she got in touch with the hospital through a Japanese friend, ultimately gaining almost unlimited access to the facility and its patients. Although a language barrier stood between Kesteleyn and her young subjects, she communicated openly with them through gestures and expressions and occasionally referred to her dictionary, which she kept on hand. For some unspoken thread of empathy and understanding, the photographer was pulled most heavily towards soft-spoken Yuna, who spent her days at the hospital mostly alone. (by Ellyn Kail, Author at Feature Shoot)

http://www.featureshoot.com/2015/04/photos-show-daily-life-of-a-group-of-young-girls-hospitalized-in-japan-for-obesity/

Published in Featureshoot.com