Project Pictures of the People of Bam
Project Pictures of the People of Bam
Nevil Mountford, October 2004
website Pictures of the people of Bam
I spent 3 years of my very early childhood living in Tehran. This was before, during and after the 1979 Revolution. I returned 25 years later to a different country. This was 2004, and it was six months after the Bam earthquake. I visited Bam with the British NGO, Merlin. The first thing I saw as I waited by the roadside fixing a burst tyre, was this very old tree, almost dead. But something was growing out of it. Looking closer I saw that it was a new shoot. And me looking around, I saw all over people working. Trucks carrying rubble. Trucks carrying bricks. People building houses. Queues outside hospitals. Kids going to school. Babies crying. People selling. People laughing. People crying. All the signs of a living and repairing city. Humanity in action. Getting it together to rebuild their ancient city. And the tree with the new shoot stayed in my mind, as a metaphor of what was going on around me. I was moved by all the people of Bam working together to make the city alive again. I was inspired by many aid workers, working together for the people of Bam. It was in the middle of the desert after a long day taking photos, that I felt we could put on a celebration for the people of Bam, and make a photo project to give them the chance to show the world who they are, and what has happened to them. After all, who knows their city, their lives and their hopes and dreams better than the people of Bam. The Bam project was born in June 2004. It was implemented in October, and it continues as a creative document illustrating recovery, resilience, courage and desire. This project has been made by the people of Bam, for every single one of those that died, and for all those who survived.
Nevil Mountford – Picture People Director
When asked the question: "what is your favourite place in Bam?" the overwhelming majority of people said it was the graveyard. When asked why this was so, many responded "because this is where all our memories are". This was the kind of response we got when we asked people to photograph their lives in Bam. Bam is truly traumatised. I have never seen so many people with their eyes fixed onto the horizon. Bam has gone through a tragedy on an unparalleled scale. 80% of the town has in one or the other experienced a loss of a direct family member, a relative, a neighbour or a friend. These memories shine through in the photos that sixty-five people of Bam took. Sixty-five people were asked to photograph five things; where they live; their family; their favourite place in Bam; the one thing that represents Bam to them and a self portrait. The collection of photographs reveals a town that has been utterly destroyed. Images of rubble and natural destruction prevail, but overwhelmingly there are images that show a side of human nature that is resilient and courageous.
The people of Bam have chosen to depict themselves as individuals with dignity and humour, as well as pain and despair. Their task now is to rebuild. Rebuild both themselves, and those around them. And through these photos that they have taken, this is the most evident thing. Bam is alive, Bam is living and Bam will become better. These are words that many say and hold true. For those of us who were not there, it is too difficult to imagine what happened on that cold winter morning on December 26th 2003. But through the testimonies of each and everyone who participated in this project, one clear thing resonates from the rubble so clearly…"we thank you deeply for coming here to hear our problems, and to bring our words and our hopes out from beneath this rubble. We thank you." All of us who look at these photos, have the ability to do just that. To be with the people of Bam when they most need it.
