Shortly after the war started in Ukraine, I got in contact with a family that fled to the Netherlands and we became friends. One day, they told me about the misperception most people have of refugees: Dutch citizens, but also people who stayed in Ukraine. Many of them think they left everything behind to live a comfortable European life and preferably will stay. I saw something else – a warm-hearted family that is proud of their country, culture, the progress their country is making – and desperately want to return to Ukraine. To their comfortable life there.
Apart from my friends, I had no one to compare my own perception with. I knew that after 6 months of the war, over 70,000 Ukrainians lived in the Netherlands, but I had no idea how in fact they were living here now or whether they were dealing with the same misconception. Besides from the daily photos of the war, I read little about Ukrainian citizens settling their life from scratch in my own country.I saw the importance of this story and the project was born. With the help of my Ukrainian friends – who wrote in groups on Telegram and Facebook to their fellow citizens – we found dozens of families living in the Netherlands who wanted to tell their story.
In August and September 2022, we have visited over 25 families – to document the perspective of a Ukrainian refugee in the Netherlands – and one thing got clear to me: “Most of them just wanted to go home”.
Personal Project
Published in Volkskrant Magazine
12th of November 2022
Selection of 2023 Dutch Photography (SO)
Award Winner of the Public Choice Prize
Zilveren Camera 2023
Category Documentary National Longlist
What is Happening Here Gallery Amsterdam
Solo Exhibition February/March 2024