PEACE FOR ALL: Lindokuhle Sobekwa for UNIQLO
Together with UNHCR in Ethiopia, Sobekwa documented and worked with Somali refugees in Jijiga
Magnum photographers Olivia Arthur, Cristina de Middel, and Lindokuhle Sobekwa partner with UNIQLO for the brand’s PEACE FOR ALL initiative to highlight the impactful work of NGOs in Romania (Save the Children), Vietnam (Plan International), and Ethiopia (UNHCR). Through intimate portraits of peoples’ daily activities and creative workshops in collaboration with each community, the project seeks to amplify their voices and stories.
An ongoing project, PEACE FOR ALL features a collection of T-shirts designed by world-renowned figures in art, design, literature, science, sports — and of course, photography. From these sales, 100% of profits are donated to international organizations aiding people impacted by poverty, discrimination, violence, conflict, and natural disasters.
In support of families escaping the severe floods caused by ongoing heavy rains across the region, Lindokuhle Sobekwa documented the work of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, near Jijiga, Ethiopia. He spent four days in the Aw-Barre Refugee Camp, photographing the lives of four Somali refugee families, including their daily activities, their homes in the camp and the aid provided by UNHCR.
UNHCR is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for people forced to flee their homes because of conflict and persecution. Since UNHCR’s founding 1950, the organization has won two Nobel Peace prizes, in 1954 and 1981, as well as a Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation in 1991. After 2014, the Spanish prizes have been called the Princess of Asturias Awards.
As part of the commission and workshop, each family received a camera to take pictures of themselves. In fact, most of the refugees had lost nearly all of their belongings and family memories — this became an opportunity to create new memories.
Sobekwa came to the camp thinking about family photos and the intimate moments that make them so special. While the work is about families, the photographer was also thinking about the type of photos that they would like of themselves and how they would imagine those photos.
Sobekwa says, “Images are a mark of time, they are a mark of memory, that important object that is full of experiences for people.”
”I learn so much from the people I photograph. Working with people in Aw-Barre Camp, hope, dreams, and resilience became a central conversation I wanted my work to represent,” noted Sobkewa.
The image selected for the T-shirt depicts a landscape at the border separating Jijiga, Ethiopia from Somalia, which is inhabited by Somalian refugees. “I wanted to play with metaphors of the rainbow that symbolize hope and promise of a better time to come, as well as a powerful quote from one of the people I worked with.”
The quote Sobekwa chose is split into two parts, “I am at Peace with the Landscape.” adorns the front of the shirt. The second is written over the photo itself and a hand-drawn rainbow. It reads, “I just look up in the horizon and dream, that’s the only place that won’t discourage me to stop dreaming.”
All profits from purchases of UNIQLO’s PEACE FOR ALL charity T-shirts will be donated to three international organizations, UNHCR, Save The Children and Plan International, to support victims of poverty, discrimination, violence, conflict, and war.
PEACE FOR ALL: Cristina de Middel for UNIQLO
PEACE FOR ALL: Olivia Arthur for UNIQLO
