A Kurdish woman on her journey to the Netherlands
Haide sitting behind a table with her items on top - Photography Chi-ching Lam
What you see in this picture is a photographic summary of Haide’s story. Haide is a political refugee currently living in Leiden with her boyfriend, Fardin, and their 5- year-old daughter, Kaya. They have lived in Leiden a little over five years now, and Haide has just started work as a nurse. If you look at the picture again, you will see that she is surrounded by objects that are meaningful to her and that smell, taste, and sound like the past she left behind in Iran. Haide is living a happy life here in Leiden: she loves their house, their daughter, and her new life. She also speaks fondly about the life, the people, and the family she had to leave behind. The objects in this picture are the starting points to her story.
Haide and Fardin live in a lovely and cozy apartment in Leiden which, as she points out, "does not have a yard." Fardin has painted the walls and ensured that their home has a 'traditional' touch. Family photos and paintings of Iranian landscapes hang in the living room.