Beyond the Single Image - Mark Slater

Mark Slater, ‘Child of Moria Camp’ February 2020

This image is part of a wider piece of work focusing on the migrants who are currently living in the infamous Moria Refugee camp on Lesbos, Greece. The numbers are sprayed onto the homes people have built in the Olive Grove camp, which is located just outside of the main camp. To date, there are over 20,000 people living in or around the camp. Conditions within this area are appalling, but NGOs (non-governmental organisations) and international aid agencies are trying to improve the situation. For children in the camp there is little to do, access to healthcare is problematic and many children have underlying health issues, only compounded by poor sanitation and living conditions.

Child of Moria Camp

Mark Slater

How did the project come about?

I served as part of the UK peacekeeping force in Bosnia in the late 1990’s, and the experiences I had, seeing first-hand the impact war has on the civilian population, have stayed with me over the years. When I saw the image of Aylan Kurdi the child from Syria whose lifeless body was photographed face down in the surf of a Turkish beach, it brought back memories of that time. That single image still haunts me to this day, along with memories from previous conflict zones where children lost not just their childhood but their lives.

I set out to document the plight of these people – bearing witness to the conditions and meeting so many fleeing war and persecution and leaving everything they have or have ever known behind, to try and forge a better, safer life. The experience has had a profound impact on me.

I really enjoy photographic projects, and for me it does not matter what the subject is. I like the planning, setting the scope of the project and looking back at the end on how it worked out. After every project I feel that I am a better photographer. Over the years I have completed many of these types of projects, but this would be one of the most challenging, both on a personal and photography level.

What conditions did you witness in the camp?

The camp near the main town of Mitilini, at one time housed over 20,000 refugees - although when originally constructed it had an official capacity of only 3,000. The lucky ones who lived in the olive grove had canvas tents provided by one of the NGO’s. Even these are inadequate during the winter months. For the rest, they make do with either a festival tent or a tarpaulin sheet wrapped round a wooden or bamboo frame. Their thin tents are surrounded by piles of rotting rubbish, sanitation is poor, food scarce, and there is limited access to vital medicine and healthcare.

Most of the children I met did not have adequate clothing for the winter. At night the temperature plummets. During one of the days I was there the wind picked up, there was torrential rain for most of the day and it became bitterly cold. A lot of the children are coughing and have runny noses, and scabies is becoming a real issue due to being unable to wash properly.

The majority of refugees came from Syria and Afghanistan, but there were pockets of people from across war torn regions of Africa, such as Sierra Leone and Rwanda. I was shocked to discover that there are 15 African countries fighting wars and involved with perpetual terrorist violence. Even more shocking is that over 27% of people on the African continent are directly affected by bloodshed, mayhem, and post-traumatic stress.

Just before I arrived there was a lot of tension between the refugees and the local population which is only increasing. When I was there NGO staff vehicles were targeted by locals. Alarmingly a number of far-right activists were arrested near the main camp, armed with clubs. During a peaceful protest by the refugees they were fired upon by riot police using tear gas. The crowd was led by families and children in buggies and pushchairs, many of whom inhaled the gas and had to be hospitalised.

In September 2020, a huge fire ripped through the camp, destroying it, and putting over 12,000 people onto the streets with no shelter. What little possessions they had were destroyed, including documentation relating to their asylum applications.

How did you go about photographing in such a sensitive environment?

Planning for the project was crucial to maximise the time that I had on the island. Reaching out to NGOs and charities working in the camp really helped and some were more forthcoming than others. But it did give me a contact on the ground which proved invaluable, not just for getting round the camp, which was huge, but to keep myself safe as there were places I was advised not to go into alone or after dark.

I always took the time to speak to people before taking any images and ask permission, gaining their consent. Afterwards I would then photograph the subjects in a documentary style, not posing or staging any images. There is a code of ethics and guidelines for reporting on children and refugees produced by UNICEF, which I adhered to during my time there. For example, there are six over-arching principles, including ‘Do not publish a story or an image that might put the child, their siblings or peers at risk, even when their identities are changed, obscured or not used’ and ‘Consult those closest to the child’s situation best able to assess the political, social and cultural ramifications of any reportage.’

Can you talk me through a few of your images?

The first thing that struck me when I arrived was the condition people were living in, from the flimsy-built shelters to the amount of rubbish and the poor sanitation. My image ‘Rubbish River’ shows a route across the river to access the camp, without having to walk round to the main entrance. Due to an ongoing issue with the local council and refuse collectors, large amounts of rubbish had built up and collected on the river bed. It was winter when I was there, but one can only imagine the smell and risk of disease during the warmer months. As it was unsafe to walk around the camp at night to access the toilets, a number of the bags and bottles contained human waste, which only added to the issue around trying to clear it up. The same image also gives a glimpse of the type of shelters that had been erected, often not much more that a tarpaulin wrapped around a frame. The book shows in much more detail the types of shelters that the refugees had constructed.

River of Rubbish

Mark Slater

When one thinks of a Greek island we think of warm beaches and good weather, but in the winter the temperature can drop dramatically. Another image ‘No Place to Grow Up’ shows a small child wearing what is quite clearly a coat that is far too big for him, with only shorts and a T-shirt underneath. Adequate footwear looked to be a real problem. Often children in the coldest conditions only had crocs on their feet with no socks and their feet and toes had turned blue.

No Place to Grow Up In

Mark Slater

Washing and keeping clean is a challenge. There is little in the way of washing machines or dryers in the camp. Just keeping clothes dry is a problem, and one of my images ‘Wash Day’ shows a barbed wire fence being used as a washing line . For me it made a very poignant image, with the children’s clothes hanging out to dry against the backdrop of shelters and rubbish.

Wash Day

Mark Slater

How did the photobook evolve?

I created a self-published book with a limited run, with proceeds donated to refugee charities providing support to those in the camp. This was picked up by a publishing house (YouCaxton Publications) and we created a book for a wider audience documenting the original Moria camp before it burnt down, making a lasting record of the conditions and people of the camp. The book ‘Refugees of Moria : I Live Where the Olive Trees Once Grew’ is now available on Amazon or copies can be obtained from the publisher and myself. A contribution from every book sold goes directly to one of the charities working to improve the conditions and lives of those living in camps around Europe.

How do you assess the current state of the refugee crisis?

The initial outrage at the image of Aylan Kurdi has long since passed as governments and the media have moved on to the Covid-19 pandemic and the financial impact this has had. Yet, at the start of the new decade over 920,000 refugees and migrants had arrived on European shores in little over a year with over 4,000 lives lost during this time. The majority are fleeing conflict and persecution in Syria, Afghanistan, or Iraq. Tens of thousands are interned in the squalor of camps across Europe, such as the one at Moria. I was living in Germany when the Berlin wall fell, and there was hope that this was the last we would see of walls dividing people and countries. This hope has been eroded as Hungary has completed its fence along the border with Serbia, Turkey has closed its border to Syrian refugees as it can no longer cope with the influx and both Greece and Turkey are now considering deploying a floating net barrier in the sea to deter the smugglers’ boats. If the situation continues something will have to give. My book was in some small way throwing light on those people living in the olive groves around the now infamous Moria refugee camp.

Cooking Dinner

Mark Slater

Grandmother with Grandchild

Mark Slater

Waiting

Mark Slater

Father and Son

Mark Slater

Kettle Boiling

Mark Slater

Smile

Mark Slater

Back from the Shops

Mark Slater

Mark Slater: Biographical Details

Mark has been the RPS Regional Organiser for Yorkshire for 3 years, lives in Penistone and is a committee member of the Penistone Camera Club. He has a military background serving from 1989 to 2000 on main battle tanks and was part of the UN Stabilisation Force (SFOR) in Bosnia. He now works for a national conservation charity, and volunteers with Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) as a community first responder. He has 3 teenage foster children in his care – so the last year has been rather challenging.

His photographic interests are wide and varied, but documentary is his main focus, and his latest project is about foster carers with an exhibition pending at the Cooper Gallery in Barnsley.