Bielany Hotel is a Refugee centre in Warsaw housing mostly refugees from Chechnya, Ingushetia and Dagestan.There are 368 Rooms and Four floors,
There are about 100 family groups sharing up to three rooms per family.
The other rooms are occupied by single men, living together in up to groups of ten people. There are is also one Armenian family and one man in an isolated room because he is H.I.V positive. I have been told there are also a few Russian families pretending to be Chechen.
Some families have been living in these rooms for up to five years awaiting refugee status with the oppertunity to work in Poland or leave for another country which may accept them.
I visted first in January 2009 with a Photojournalist friend from the Sputnik group and a Warsaw based Journalist,and used a 35mm film camera and a 120 6x6 Yashica Med format camera.
This time i used a translator who spoke Russian, Polish and English and visited in July 2009, this time i used a digitial camera (which i ahted) and my 35mm film camera again.
I cropped everything down to 6x6 or letterbox to keep with my ideals and style for the work. I took notes from the families and individuals i inteviwed,often had tea and lunch with them and spent about one-two hours with each of them. Often i spent 4-5 hrs at the centre arriving from 10 am because the residents hardly ever woke up early.I talked to the director when i arrived (who came across surprisingly as an instituionalised racist?)...so in all i visted the Hotel seven days. Its a hard place and the children and residents drain you, harrowing stories,brave people,frustration and apathy.
I take and promise, i give them copies of my work at the end but they all need something 'solid!' what do i give them back?..will i return can i?...i need to find someone to publish the work to at least do these tortured people some justice by my work, what a waste if the work is never seen or continued, (if i can get funding) the project feeds me, but it has still left a bitter and ethicial taint in my mouth.
