“Migrationpapa”

On a Monday morning in November 2010, six photographers in five cities around the world take their cameras to urban neighbourhoods where newcomers arrive. The photos flow into the PAPA website like a wave moving around the world. First from Bangladesh, five hours later from Rotterdam and Lagos – cities in the same time zone. Detroit and São Paulo complete the group another seven hours later. From the first week the photos and captions were projected on the windows of the cultural centre at the entrance to the neighbourhood in Rotterdam. The same will happen in other cities. In this way the inhabitants of the various newcomers neighbourhoods not only get a fresh perspective on their own lives but they also get to see how newcomers in other cities live. Migrationpapa is a PAPA project for Kosmopolis Rotterdam with the generous support of Hivos

Roadside shop

Dhaka -  You need very little to set up a shop. Here a balance and a wicker baskets and some plastic bags, make up the entire furniture. Even what is sold (legs…
Shahidul Alam – Migrationpapa

Rickshaw Art

Dhaka -  Rickshaw wallas are very proud of their rickshaws and most rickshaws are brightly decorated. But with times getting more difficult, there are fewer adornments, and hand painted decorations are being…
Shahidul Alam – Migrationpapa

Cow on road

Dhaka -  A cow decides to take a leisurely walk along the road. Other traffic simply lets it be, and life goes on as normal.…
Shahidul Alam – Migrationpapa

Barber shop and pigeons

Dhaka -  Yet another barber shop. I was intrigued by the fact that this doubled as the place where the barber reared his homing pigeons. There were several houses and the pigeons…
Shahidul Alam – Migrationpapa

Girl who wants to be a model

Dhaka -  This little girl insisted on being photographed and took on poses commonly associated with pin up girls. “She’s always poses in front of mobile cameras” says her dad.…
Shahidul Alam – Migrationpapa

The Bed

Dhaka -  The bed in this family home almost fills up the entire space of the 8 foot by 8 foot room. Things are stuck up on the walls to save space…
Shahidul Alam – Migrationpapa

Urban Farming 2

Detroit -  A manifesto sign is on display at the entrance to the garden and orchard belonging to the Trumbull Plex, anarchist/artist community that has been established in two houses on Trumbull…
Marcin Szczepanski – Migrationpapa

Young entrepreneur

Rotterdam -  Young Mr. Bhoendie has been working here for eleven years now. His father and mother bought this little restaurant fifteen years ago. His mother cooks Surinamese, Hindu, Chinese, Carribean and…
Nies Medema – Migrationpapa

Rickshaw Walla and Daughter

Dhaka -  A rickshaw walla with his baby girl. While it is difficult to make ends meet with what one earns pulling a rickshaw. Once children are born, it becomes more difficult…
Shahidul Alam – Migrationpapa

Rickshaw Walla

Dhaka -  Most male migrants who come into from villages have skills like farming…
Shahidul Alam – Migrationpapa

Corner shop cinema

Dhaka -  The corner shop sells pretty much anything you might need on a daily basis. It is also a tea shop. However, to do business you need more, so all the…
Shahidul Alam – Migrationpapa

Rickshaw puller and his wife

Dhaka -  The concept of privacy is very different in a home where the whole family lives in one room.…
Shahidul Alam – Migrationpapa

Buying Cosmetics

Dhaka -  A woman haggles over the price of lipstick and other cosmetics. She is prepared to pay 15 Taka (around 15 euro cents) for the lot, but the seller wants 25…
Shahidul Alam – Migrationpapa

Please be brave

Rotterdam -  At the hairdresser in Dordtselaan a poster is displayed. It says: ‘ I will act when I witness a violent situation in the street.'The poster was published by the…
Nies Medema – Migrationpapa

Rickshaws in Garage

Dhaka -  Rickshaw owners keep their own rickshaws in the garage for safety. They also let out the place for others who do not have enough rickshaws/rickshaw vans, to justify a garage…
Shahidul Alam – Migrationpapa

Sewage

Dhaka -  Much of the land on either side of the Beri Bandh embankment used to be a swamp, and most homes are built on stilts. The refuse from nearby tanneries and…
Shahidul Alam – Migrationpapa

Together 1

Rotterdam -  To my surprise, the Chinese poet Bei Dao (now living in Danmark, is quoted on a garbage truck. It says: ‘ The source dries out, the fire rages, the road…
Nies Medema – Migrationpapa

Sleeping like sand

Dhaka -  Kadar moton ghumai literally translates to ‘sleeping like sand’. It is generally used for small children who drape themselves around their mother, sleeping as if the world didn’t exist. These…
Shahidul Alam – Migrationpapa

Mexicantown

Detroit -  A house in Mexican town, Southwest Detroit caught  fire. Fires are daily occurrences in the city because of poverty, old electric wiring, insurance motivated arsons or lack of caution…
Marcin Szczepanski – Migrationpapa

Mongolian saloon?

Dhaka -  As children we used to talk about Italian Saloons (‘It’ is a brick in Bangla, so these were saloons where you sat on roadside bricks). We also had Mongolian Saloons…
Shahidul Alam – Migrationpapa

Rayerbazaar: Goddess Kali

Dhaka -  Kali is considered the goddess of time and change. Although sometimes presented as dark and violent, her earliest incarnation as a figure of annihilation still has some influence. Shahidul Alam/Drik/Majority…
Shahidul Alam – Migrationpapa

Rickshaw van

Dhaka -  Most male migrants who come into from villages have skills like farming and fishing, which are not useful in the city. They initially work as rickshaw drivers or labourers. Rickshaw…
Shahidul Alam – Migrationpapa

Words and public space 2

Rotterdam -  This may be the weirdest sign I have ever seen in our Rotterdam ‘Attempts to regulate with written words-collection’ so far. It is put on a window of an empty…
Nies Medema – Migrationpapa

Harbour

Rotterdam -  Some grain ware houses have been renovated and are used as discotheques or apartment buildings now, this one in Maashaven is still functioning.…
Nies Medema – Migrationpapa