Behind the Wall
Ordinary Lives in the West Bank and Beyond
The focus of my photography has been on the Middle East, on women and children especially. In the past few years I had focused on Lebanon, mainly because of its key location between the Western and Arab world. I grew up and lived in both the Middle East and the U.S. I am a Lebanese insider who speaks the language, knows the area, and understands its people, but also an outsider who can see Lebanon and its complexities through Western eyes, who can be intrigued by the dichotomies that are often shocking to the Westerner, but unnoticed by the locals.
In the past year, I became interested in focusing my work outside the boundaries of Lebanon. In the summer of 2009, I took my first trip to Jerusalem, the West Bank, and to some Arab areas within Israel, with the intention of keeping my focus on people and their daily lives. I was welcomed into people's homes and lives, and I found the same spirit, resilience and dignity that I had experienced in Lebanon, in the aftermath of war and in the refugee camps where I had previously photographed.
These images are not meant to be political. They intend to focus on the universality of just being human no matter what the circumstances are, of being a mother, a father, a child, or a young woman no matter what background or religion one belongs to. Kids play in the alleys of their refugee camp oblivious to their surrounding conditions; men gather around for a cup of coffee; boys get their monthly haircuts and... life just goes on.
– R. M.