Every day dozens of Chechens try to escape the Putin-proclaimed happy paradise in Chechnya by entering the European Union illegally via the border with Ukraine or Belarus. Despite the news of a general peace and prosperity In Checnya (widely circulated by the Russian news media and in the Chechen Republic), more and more people still dream of leaving Chechnya.
Each time I returned to the rundown refugee centre on the edge of Warsaw that house's nearly 300 mainly from Chechnya or Ingushetia who had arrived as refugees in Poland, I found it harder and harder to get a grip both ethically and photographically on their situation.
Some of the residents had moved out into Warsaw apartments, some had been repatriated home; others had just disappeared into the E.U, This was especially so, if their asylum claims had been rejected by the Polish department of foreigners that deals with refugees.Some of the people I had first met may have even returned to Chechnya voluntary, even perhaps to fight in the insurgence. Often if they had been refused status to stay in Poland or elsewhere the militant young felt they were left with little choice, but to return back to Chechnya to face violent reprisals or join the Islamic insurgence in the Caucasus Mountains. mostly it was the old and the families with small children that remained for many years in the refugee centre, still hoping that they would not have to return to a place of fear.
It became a confusing place more and more for me to visit, but with so many kind and courageous people welcoming me into their lives to photograph and interview them, I felt I needed to continue to document the transient and desperate nature of their existence on the four floors of Bielany, the reasons they fled their homeland and why they could not return and produce the work in the most honest and respectfull way I could. The website with all the individual stories,music and drawings was the end result.
This portrait and detail story is just one small but very important segement of my project: 'Four Floors in Bielany' (Chechen refugees in warsaw) it is the : 'the children of bielany and the ghosts they left behind in my mind'.
It was always the children of the refugees that stuck me the most on my visits to the refugee centre. Beautiful and wild, green eyed blondes to dark bright eyed shadows.They inhabited the corridors like ghosts whilst their parents floated around in a buracratic limbo waiting for their asylum claims to be processed. I am still in contact with Ibrgahim whose family was granted status to stay in Poland, they were transfered to a different refugee centre far to the west of Warsaw. As for the other people and families I am not sure where they are now.The Bielany centre closed down in late 2010 and most of the refugees contacts I had were lost. The Polish authorities are continuing the policy of limiting the number of refugees staying in Poland and are implementing the closure of more refugee centres around Poland.
I am trying to raise funds and apply for grants to continue my work with refugees in Poland as well traveling back home with repatriated refugees. But the voices of the singing children still inspire me to continue in my work and purpose, if they are somewhere in Poland or back home in a recovering homeland I wish them luck and kindness for the future.
You can see the section on the children of bielany on my main website about the Bielany refugee centre in Warsaw here: http://kellingham.viewbook.com/fourfloorsinbielany/childrenand on Ibraghim here:
http://kellingham.viewbook.com/fourfloorsinbielany/ibragim
