During my time there, I asked my fellow refugees a simple yet profound question: "What is your dream?"
I then captured their portraits and used a double exposure technique to overlay their images with Finland's natural landscapes or other locations that represented their aspirations.
This exhibition is a testament to the hope of refugees who have come to Finland seeking a new beginning.
A subset of photographs from this exhibition has been featured in the research publication titled Turvapaikanhaku ja pakolaisuus Suomessa.
Dreams has been exhibited at the Migration
Institute of Finland, Turku City Library, the Pori Theatre Festival, and Supporting Refugees’ Mental Health’ conference organised by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) in Helsinki.
These are clouds that cover the Greek land and water. Maybe there is the home for the souls of people whose bodies were crying for help in the ocean, on their way to Europe – a trip that finished before the destination was reached.
Burhan, Somalia.
”I dream about becoming a millionaire in order to help my people. See, there are no millionaires in Somalia. If there were, there wouldn’t be poverty. You cannot help others if you are in need of help, so it is best to start from yourself.’’
Rita, Syria.
”I rehearse guitar playing a lot and I dream about mastering that instrument.”
Hussein, Afganistan.
”I dream about living in a safe and secure life in a country with a beautiful nature.”
Aral, Kurdistan (of Iraq) and Shevin, Kurdistan (of Syria).
”When the war broke out in Syria, I needed to stop studying Social Work and flee with my family to a refugee camp in Kurdistan of Iraq. There I met Aral, we got married but then after one year we needed to leave the country. Now I'm in Finland with my husband, a country safer for our baby than Kurdistan, and my dream is to continue my studies still one day.” Shevin
”I'm a journalist, and I faced dangers to my life in my country because of my work, so I fled with my wife whom I met while I was making a reportage for a TV channel in the refugee camp. I dream about becoming a film-maker.”
Aral
Toni, Syria.
”I wish to dedicate myself to spreading love and peace in the world in order to make it a beautiful place to live in.”
Karrar, Iraq.
”I left Baghdad tired of mentally dying every day of fear and panic in the country terrorized by ISIS. I have always dreamt of being a professional football player and trainer and making a Bachelor’s Degree in football.”
Shamsullah, Afganistan.
”I would like to be a doctor to remove pain from patients' bodies.”
Mohamed, Kurdistan of Iran
”I came here in search of my dream, to live in a country that respects Human Rights and offers its citizens basic freedoms. I also dream about being a good goal keeper in football.”
Sharon, Eritrea.
”I would like to become a social worker in the future and work with refugee children: to make them happy so that they are not going to feel like I felt, and teach them essential things for life.”
Rewan, Kurdistan of Iraq.
"I am the photographer behind these portraits. When I was given a chance to stay in Finland, I felt a responsibility—both as a refugee and as a photographer—to show the faces and dreams of real refugees to the people of this country. Too often, refugees are seen only as faceless figures in the news.
In the reception centre in Rauma, I was given a small basement room, a basic light, and a camera. With these, I began to take portraits. My own portrait I took on the bus from Raisio police station to Rauma on the 16th of June 2016, just after receiving my residence permit. Only two months earlier, I had celebrated my 21st birthday in Finland—my first birthday far away from my country and my family. Far from everything that had formed my life, but closer than ever to myself."
