Stories from around the world

Paul Hansen

See a sample of Pauls art below

Photos below are taken by Paul Hansen, world famous photojournalist based in Sweden. He has worked for Dagens Nyheter and his projects have taken him all over the world. A selection of his work will be exposed in the conference venue. A denominator that links his pictures with social work is the core value of empathy. Read more about the photos displayed below.

In 2015 thousands of refugees fled toward safety from war and violence. Outside the Slovenian village of Rigonce a train full of refugees has arrived and is escorted by police to a transit camp. Soon the borders leading north into the EU were closed off with barb wire, police and military. Many of the refugees and asylum seekers became stuck in a humanitarian cul-de-sac.

Kabul, 2012. A couple of blocks from the "Olympic stadium" internally displaced refugees have taken shelter. The 83 families had been fleeing violence for three years. Four year old Bibi Hajira is very happy that her older brother Shir Agha let her play with his balloon. The last time the Taliban movement ruled Afghanistan the Olympicstadium was used for public executions.

Senior Citizen Summer Camp. To break social isolation for senior citizens the Stockholm ”Stadsmission” sponsor summer visits for 250 people. Most stay for a week, and the majority are regular guests each summer. Einar, 101 years old, is one of those. He finds his visits here very relaxin - even if it seems as many of the female visitors pass by his place of napping. As a true gentleman he greats all of them warmly but his heart is somewhere else. Next week his fiancée will arrive, she wants to marry him.

Taras cries when he says farewell to his son Matviy. His wife Kristina has written a heart on the train door. Together with the couples other son eight year old Ustyna she is leaving for Poland. Taras is forced to stay behind. No men between the age of 18 and 60 are allowed to leave the country. They are expected to fight the Russian invasion. The departing trains are packed, way beyond their limit, with women and children – leaving devastated fathers in their wake. Fathers that head for the frontlines.

The air is thick with smoke from campfires and burning tires along the streets of Kiev. The Majdan revolution against Viktor Janukovytj started on november 21 when he declared that he would not sign a partnership deal with EU. November 30 the Berkut riot police and snipers killed many people along Hrusjevskyj and other streets in the Ukranian capital. During a lull in the clashes a local priest tries to intervene, but whithout any success. Soon the fighting broke out again.

The warm summer sun of daytime lingered on the concrete. Kabul was in ruins. It was time to go back to the guesthouse and say goodnight. Suddenly I heard laughter approaching, and I turned around to see a cyclist passing. The bicycle was loaded with family members and newly bought vegetables. I ran next to it for a while, taking a few photos, before the group hurriedly disappeared, laughing. Five hopeful smiles cycling towards a brighter future. That’s what I thought then. There would be many more trips with a bulletproof vest in the luggage.