The Black Snapper Editing Team's photostream

I am trying to get a series of portraits on so-called 1F-children published. For almost ten years, these children have been growing up in asylum centers in The Netherlands. The 1F label means one of their parents is suspected of war crimes that occurred under the Najibullah regime in Afghanistan. The words "suspected of war crimes" seem to make all newspapers and magazines hesitant to publish.
I find it heartbreaking. I spoke to an eight year old girl, who has lived all her live in these centers and she commented "people come and go, but we are still here." Life in an asylum center is comparable to a light detention regime. People are not allowed to have visitors after 22:00, for example.
The strangest thing is that the fathers are not convicted war criminals, they are suspects. Kees Wouters, who recently got an PhD for his research on international refugee law, recently commented that "if we suspect somebody to be a war criminal, we should bring him to court and try to convinct him. Using asylum laws for cirminal law purposes is the wrong way to respond. Especially, when a suspect's wife and children are punished in the process as well, because they are denied their asylum rights for something that is not their fault." Copyright: Diederik Meijer, unauthorized publication prohibited.

I am trying to get a series of portraits on so-called 1F-children published. For almost ten years, these children have been growing up in asylum centers in The Netherlands. The 1F label means one of their parents is suspected of war crimes that occurred under the Najibullah regime in Afghanistan. The words "suspected of war crimes" seem to make all newspapers and magazines hesitant to publish.
I find it heartbreaking. This eight year old girl has lived all her live in these centers and she commented "people come and go, but we are still here." Life in an asylum center is comparable to a light detention regime. People are not allowed to have visitors after 22:00, for example.
The strangest thing is that the fathers are not convicted war criminals, they are suspects. Kees Wouters, who recently got an PhD for his research on international refugee law, recently commented that "if we suspect somebody to be a war criminal, we should bring him to court and try to convinct him. Using asylum laws for cirminal law purposes is the wrong way to respond. Especially, when a suspect's wife and children are punished in the process as well, because they are denied their asylum rights for something that is not their fault." Copyright: Diederik Meijer, unauthorized publication prohibited.

I am trying to get a series of portraits on so-called 1F-children published. For almost ten years, these children have been growing up in asylum centers in The Netherlands. The 1F label means one of their parents is suspected of war crimes that occurred under the Najibullah regime in Afghanistan. The words "suspected of war crimes" seem to make all newspapers and magazines hesitant to publish.
I find it heartbreaking. I spoke to an eight year old girl, who has lived all her live in these centers and she commented "people come and go, but we are still here." Life in an asylum center is comparable to a light detention regime. People are not allowed to have visitors after 22:00, for example.
The strangest thing is that the fathers are not convicted war criminals, they are suspects. Kees Wouters, who recently got an PhD for his research on international refugee law, recently commented that "if we suspect somebody to be a war criminal, we should bring him to court and try to convinct him. Using asylum laws for cirminal law purposes is the wrong way to respond. Especially, when a suspect's wife and children are punished in the process as well, because they are denied their asylum rights for something that is not their fault." Copyright: Diederik Meijer, unauthorized publication prohibited.

Irish/Dutch band Moke worked on their new album The Long and Dangerous Sea this summer. OOR Magazine commissioned me to photograph them. Having grown weary of posed/staged band photography, I used a Cambo Wide panorama camera and shot these using conventional film during interview sessions the musicians had with OOR journalist Tom Engelshoven. Copyright photos: Diederik Meijer

Irish/Dutch band Moke worked on their new album The Long and Dangerous Sea this summer. OOR Magazine commissioned me to photograph them. Having grown weary of posed/staged band photography, I used a Cambo Wide panorama camera and shot these using conventional film during interview sessions the musicians had with OOR journalist Tom Engelshoven. Copyright photos: Diederik Meijer