AJAs 2024 Finalists
Kasken Sisters
| Slug/Label | kasken-sisters |
|---|---|
| Date Aired or Published | July 27, 2024 |
| Media outlet where first aired or published: | The Independent |
| Name of Program: | NA |
| If co-produced, list partner: | NA |
| Location: | St. John's |
| List awards, grants: | NA |
| Running time (TV/Radio): | NA |
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Short explanation of the story and how it developed: This photo depicts the struggle of Miran and Marilyn Kasken, two Palestinian refugee sisters in St. John’s NL, to bring their two brothers from Gaza to Newfoundland. They spent months navigating the labyrinthine bureaucracy of Canada’s temporary resident program for Palestinians fleeing the war. I was brought into the story following an initial interview between the writer and the sisters. The first interview became deeply emotional, and they didn’t feel comfortable having their photos taken. Our editor proposed a follow-up session with me as photographer. They tentatively agreed to this. It's important to note the preparation for this photo didn’t begin with the request for me to do the shoot. It began months earlier, when I started attending Palestine solidarity rallies and photographing the community that organized and participated in them. I attended dozens of Palestine solidarity events in the preceding months, providing photographic documentation of the vibrant spirit of these community actions. Some of this photojournalism work was for publication; some was not (but I always shared my photographic work with the community). My constant presence and engagement with the community helped to gradually establish a relationship of trust. Community members came to know my face and more importantly, my approach to photography and photo-journalism, which is rooted in a trauma-informed, consent-based approach. I would never have been able to simply show up and take the Kasken sisters’ photo, but because I had shown up and done the work of relationship-building as a photojournalist and community member in the months preceding, I established a rapport and relationship of trust with the community and this fed into the sisters’ agreeing to take a chance with me. Taking photographs of people, especially those who have experienced trauma, is a deeply vulnerable process and requires creating a basis for trust and mutual understanding. The trust-building aspect of establishing rapport with the community one engages with is a well-recognized principle in journalism but its importance is often under-acknowledged in the realm of photography and photojournalism, especially in our digital era. I didn’t simply show up to take photos on the day of the shoot; I was invited to engage in a relationship of trust with vulnerable community members. The shoot took place at a local coffeeshop. I spoke with the sisters about the story, their feelings about photography, and their lives in general. They drank tea and we talked. I took some initial photos in the busy coffeeshop, but wanted the focus to be on the sisters themselves, with minimal distractions. I suggested we take a stroll around the neighbourhood. I took dozens of photos during this stroll; the photo submitted here (which became the cover photo for the story) was taken toward the end. I wanted a photo that incorporated not just the sisters, but their brothers as well. I proposed they pull up a photo of their brothers on a cellphone. The photo was technically challenging: ensuring adequate lighting on the sisters’ faces, while navigating the glare of a cellphone screen, required complex maneuvering. I wanted the iconic ‘Jellybean Row’ colourful rowhouses in the background to reflect a sense of place: a location familiar to readers; a new home for the sisters, and the refuge to which they were trying to bring their brothers. The rowhouses – symbolic of Newfoundland community – also reflected the important role of local community in Palestinian solidarity and refugee support. I had to capture this outdoors on a bustling summer day without background distractions, so the focus would be on the sisters holding the image of their brothers. The expression on their faces is tenuous: not exactly beaming with joy, yet smiling slightly with a hopeful, committed sense of determination. Their expression in this photo was unprompted, an honest reflection and culmination of the preceding hour of trust-building, conversation, and narrative storytelling. Throughout the shoot I checked in with the sisters, showing them the photos I was taking. This aided in the process of building trust and confidence; they were surprised I let them actively participate in the photographic process. But photographing from a trauma-informed lens isn’t just about the photographer and the demands of a story; it’s also about reinvesting agency in the photographic subject. It’s about acknowledging our shared humanity and finding a point of commonality and empathy from which a relationship can be built between photographer and those being photographed. Insofar as journalism aspires to build empathy and dialogue by enabling communities to speak to each other and learn to understand and care for each other, photography and photojournalism aspires to the same goal: building empathy, care and mutual understanding one photo at a time. In December 2024, the sisters and their brothers were finally reunited in St. John’s. |
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Resources of the newsroom (money and time) available to complete the story: Freelance fee of $150 was paid and the photojournalist had 48 hours to complete the assignment. |
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