Abstract
This study (and class paper) explores the question: How photo-narrative collaborative projects help articulate a new understanding of the concept of diaspora as a category of practice? This inquiry unfolds from the critical arguments that first, diaspora as a category of analysis, attributes arbitrary meanings to migratory populations. Second, that as a category of practice, diaspora remains a top-down incorporation of the migratory communities' experiences in scholarly theorization. Therefore, by analyzing the refugee-led project Rohingyatograper and its 51-portraits photo-exhibition titled "Añrá Rohingya'', the study introduces photo-narrative practice as a channel that articulates refugees' experiences as the primary sources of knowledge production on diaspora. To that end, hermeneutics are applied to look at the context and case of the Rohingyatographer's webpage. Narrative analysis navigates the exhibition's themes of memory, hope, faith, beauty, craftsmanship, grief, loss and love. Finally, visual content analysis decodes symbolic meanings through the portraits' manifest content, manifest latent, internal content, and external content. At the end, the study introduces the analysis results into an open theoretical conversation with Brubaker's idea of diaspora as an " idiom, stance and claim", Foucaults' proponent of "regime of truth", Azoulay's "civil contract of photography", Mookherjees' view on "memory" and Callahan's proponent of "cultural sovereignty".
Diaspora in context: An introduction to the study
Diaspora has a vast potential as an interdisciplinary concept that allows us to explore and identify nuances around patterns of migration, settlement, and adaptation (Kenny, 2003, p.14). As a category of analysis, diaspora is an explanatory tool to understand human movement, networks and cultural production of migrant communities. On the other hand, as a category of practice, diaspora is an approach that integrates the everyday experiences of migratory communities in pre-established theoretical models of diaspora (Kenny, 2003, p.14). But the question that remains in discussion is what mediums can help understanding who the diaspora is?
Thus the main research question of this study centers at exploring: How photo-narrative collaborative projects help articulate a new understanding of the concept of diaspora as a category of practice? By addressing this inquiry with the analysis of 51 portraits from Rohingyatographer's refugee-led exhibition "Añrá Rohingya'', this paper contributes in three aspects. First, it offers nuances in the understanding of diaspora discourses at a local level that could inform general patterns in diaspora as a category of analysis in scholarly work. Concomitantly, it challenges the dominant top-down approach of diaspora studies by critically approaching the traditional ways of knowledge production. Lastly, through Rohingyatographer, it introduces photo-narrative projects as an alternative source of data not only in diaspora studies but in social sciences as well.
This study departs from a weak formalist approach, since it is influenced by the Foucauldian "regime of truth" (Foucault as in Hall, 2006, p.g, 54-60). This is to say that the pre-theoretical commitment that influences this study, is the assumption that there are hegemonic sources of knowledge production in the discussions of what is diaspora practice. Nevertheless, in spite of the incompatibility from formalist pre-conceptions, the main ontological approach of this project remains as social constructivist. Thus, influencing the theoretical and methodological approaches of this study through the notion that "all our understandings and knowledge are socially constructed [both individually and socially]" (Traianau, 2020, p.119). Moreover, it is worth emphasizing that the constructivist approach and topic of research does not make this study normative, nor does it implies that my ethical positionality seeks for social justice. Rather there is an intention for stimulating productive discussions in a rather ethically contested field, as diaspora is (Traianau, 2020, p. 98).
Departing from a constructivist approach, this study follows two epistemological approaches. First, it is the interpretative approach, emphasizing that "human subjectivity, individuals' characteristics, feelings, opinions, and experiential backgrounds[,] impact observations, analysis of these observations, and resultant knowledge/truth constructions" (Trent and Cho, 2020. n.p). Thus, interpretation not only plays a crucial role on how the topic of diaspora is approached but how it methodologically works in my data analysis (Spencer, Price and Walsh, 2020, p. 119). Second, a critical approach, since it allows to articulate how knowledge production and research on diaspora studies, must be grounded within an understanding of "social structures, power relationships, and the agency of human beings" (Kum-Kum, Chua and Collins, 2020, p.224).
The criteria for data selection was to respond to the underrepresentation of who is diaspora and to precisely bring the refugee communities back at the center, as knowledge producers. Concomitantly, the study's primary data is the project Rohingyatographer, which is a photography magazine and collective platform led by Rohingya refugee artists based in Cox Bazar's (CXB) largest refugee camp. Particularly the analysis focuses on Ronhingyatographer's first photo-exhibition "Añrá Rohingya'' (We are Rohingya). A virtually based curatorial work, composed of 51 portraits that navigates eight themes: memory, hope, faith, beauty, craftsmanship, grief, loss and love.
Posterior to a preliminary observation of "Añrá Rohingya'', three methodologies appeared relevant. First, hermeneutics, as it stimulates the "understanding of different life experiences expressed in texts, documents, laws and works of art" and allows grasping "the point of view of a person different in religion and ethnicity" (Bondevik and Bostad, 2017, p 70, 79). With hermeneutics, the categories of context and case were applied to grasp a big picture of Rohingyatographer as a project. Second, narrative analysis, as it emphasizes the "storytelling as a communicative activity" focusing on how the collaborative "use [of] language endows experience with meaning" (Bochner and Hermann, 2020, n.p). To capture the fluidity of meaning contestations within the portraits, the same eight themes of the exhibition were applied as categories of analysis. Lastly, through a digitally based visual ethnography, it is content analysis of visual data, which included four parameters to identify symbolism in the portraits: manifest content -literal description of the photograph-, manifest latent -social symbolisms that emerge from the photograph- (Banks, 2011, p.45-47), internal content -what is the picture of?-, and external content -connotation of captions- (Banks, 2011, p.16-17). Despite living in an age of visual saturation, photography is underutilized in social science research (Holm, 2020, n.p). Nevertheless, photography serves as an exploratory medium for studying the "abstract and difficult-to-grasp concepts" (Holm, 2020, n.p). Exploring photo-narrative "aid[s] sensorial experience" (McNiff, 2008; Nielsen, 2004; Pink, 2009, as in Gioia and Leavy, 2020, n.p), allowing to, "examine [oneself], investigate and express the words of others, produce intersubjective knowledge [and] review the hidden meaning of memory work" (Gioia and Leavy, 2020, n.p).
Diaspora as a category of analysis vs. practice: Previous scholarship
Diaspora as a category of analysis and practice has been dominated by what Brubaker emphasizes are "strikingly idealist, teleological understanding of the nation-state, [by] nationalizing and homogenizing the population" (Brubaker, 2005, p.10). Whereas there is a multidisciplinary expansion, diaspora remains heavily influenced by "old assimilationist [and] immigrationist paradigm[s]" (Brubaker, 2005, p.7-8). As a critical response to traditional approaches, scholarly conversations advocate for more sensorial and experiential approaches to diaspora. Thus, reinforcing the idea that diaspora must be a concept informed from the migratory communities experiences and only used as an analytical tool when fruitful (Brubaker, 2005, p.12). In this regard, Hall's scholarship on the history of black diaspora art allows anchoring visual art as essential to inform diaspora as practice: "...the world has to become a text, an image, before it can be read" (Hall, 2006, p. 23). Likewise is Lie's proponent, which informs diaspora study through the lenses of "immigration circumstances, class backgrounds, gender transitions, and the sheer multitude of migration experiences" (Lie, 1995, p. 304). Moreover, S.Nelson proponent that diaspora constitutes "multiple practices [and] multiple worldviews" (Wofford, 2016, p.74), adds to the discussions on the "diaspora experience" (Hall, as in Brubaker, 2005, p.10).
Based on the former discussions, three relevant theoretical approaches arise inductively and in discussion to what the data has shown. First, Brubaker's remarkable proponent of diaspora as a category of practice, where he argues that diaspora must be approached as an "idiom, a stance, a claim" (Hall, as in Brubaker, 2005, p.12). Secondly, I use interrelated theoretical views on photography as a channel of contestant meaning production: Azoulay's proponent of photography as "a civil contract", Mookherjees's proponent of memory, to approach the photographic project as "the mode through which [the] hegemonic…can be resisted" (Mokherjee, 2018, p.202), and Callahan's proponent of "cultural sovereignty" (Callahan, 2018, p.82). Thirdly, Foucault's proponent that knowledge is hegemonically contested through actions, discourse and representations (Hall, 1997, p.g 44), comes into conversation with the former theories, since they all regard the subject of knowledge production and power.
Bringing the voices of diaspora at the center: An analysis of "Añrá Rohingya"
This section analyzes diaspora as a category of practice through the project Rohingyatographer, a magazine and platform led by Rohingya refugee photographers. The analysis comprises two sections. First, through hermeneutics, by exploring Rohingyatographer's website, to identify the vision and goals of the project's platform. Second, through narrative analysis and visual content analysis, by examining Rohingyatographer's first photographic exhibition titled "Añrá Rohingya'' (We are Rohingya). The photographic exhibition displayed at the Liberation War Museum in Dhaka-Bangladesh and virtually on Rohingyatographer's webpage on the World Refugee Day of 2022; is a series of 51 portraits created by Rohingya artists at CXB refugee camp exploring the themes of memory, hope, faith, beauty, craftsmanship, grief, loss and love.
Applying hermeneutics allowed to first analyze "the macro-level", grasping the context, and case of Rohingyatographer. The category of "context" included the codes: refugee, location, agency and instrumentality. And the category of "case" included the codes: identity information and factual information of phenomena. Combined, the categories "context"and "case" manifest three relevant intentions:
First, it is that Rohingyatographer serves as a platform that conveys the community's voice to the global arena. This section is particularly important as it indicates a bottom-up approach, and allocates its audience within the human rights arena. Moreover, phrases such as: "...while also providing a historical record", or "An essential publication for anyone interested in the Rohingya experience, community-led documentary photography, visual anthropology, human rights, and refugee studies," show evidentiary language and directly refer to human rights based instrumental approaches, commonly used for activism and normative studies.
The second, is to establish a community discourse based on diversity. It informs inclusiveness and collaborative approaches through multigenerational layers, since there is an emphasis on providing a historical account of the Rohingya crisis and conveying it to the outer world. And generationally, this historical accounting only comes through the articulated experiences of the elderly.
Third, is to contestate arbitrarily attributed meanings on their identity by taking photography and narrative as their source of knowledge production. An illustrative phrase of this aspect is: "Through their art, they are…providing valuable insight into the lives of the Rohingya people for others to learn from." Moreover, an avocational narrative revealed specific themes that the Rohingya consider relevant to contest arbitrary meaning attributions on their: identity, humanitarian conditions, human rights status, the diverse ways of coping with and experiencing trauma, and their exploration of their identity as refugees. All the previously mentioned themes represent the sense of individuality vis-à-vis the collective Rohingya, which is a crucial insight that reinforces the proponent of prioritizing diaspora as a category of practice before engaging with knowledge production of diaspora as a category of analysis.
In the second part of the analysis, visual methodologies are applied to Rohingyatographer's exhibition titled "Añrá Rohingya". The codes used for the narrative analysis are borrowed from the themes that the exhibition explores: memory, hope, faith, beauty, craftsmanship, grief, loss and love. Complementary to the former method, is visual content analysis. For this method four parameters apply: manifest content (literal description of the photograph), manifest latent (social symbolisms that emerge from the photograph), internal content (what is the picture of?), and external content (connotation of captions). Given that the exhibition shows a chronological narrative of humankind, surrounding the volatile conditionality of an identity as a diaspora/refugee community, Rohingya, and as individuals. Thus, the findings are arranged by three sections that capture the curatorial narrative.
Childhood and youth
Composed of seventeen portraits, the section presents children in different stages of their lives, who carry the symbolism of future, hope and progress and forwardness. Moreover, narratives surround themes of education, playing and recreation, children's rights and children's rights violations. Thus, emphasizing resilience but also the hard realities.
"Azizah is a…very talented young girl. She can write the name of her family members in English…” [Shat Zia Hero, 'Azizah', 2021, "Añrá Rohingya"]
“Abasar is 6 years old” “There is nobody except me to support my siblings and provide for my father's treatment" [Shat Zia Hero, 'Abazar', 2022, "Añrá Rohingya"]
Children are also carriers of symbolism of ethnicity and cultural identity of the Rohingya. Some of them wear traditional attires and have applied in their faces thakana. In accordance with these representations, the predominant codes are: love, beauty, hope, craftsmanship and loss.
[Abdullah Khin Maung Thein,"Bilkis Tara", 2022, "Añrá Rohingya"]
Adulthood
Composed of 8 portraits, this section is explored through the subjects of marriage, identity construction, ways of survival, collaboration and support. In contrast with childhood, this section presents narratives and symbolisms of perseverance and adaptability in daily aspects of life. Here, being a Rohingya connotes perseverance, confidence in one's capabilities, reliance on family and the practice of faith. Nevertheless, narratives of hardships for young refugees at the camps are also conveyed as a factual context. For instance, the practice of young teenage girls arranged marriages or the lack of protection and support for people with disabilities.
"Sohana is a …English and Burmese language teacher.” "When I teach children, I feel I am gaining education through teaching others." Explained Sohana. [Shahida Win,"Sohana", 2022, "Añrá Rohingya"]
[Abdullah Khin Maung Thein, "Juanaid", 2022, "Añrá Rohingya"]
Furthermore, the young Rohingya are also carriers of their culture and traditions. One of the predominant material symbols of faith was men wearing the taqiyyah. Lastly, the themes that became predominant are: memory, craftsmanship, loss, grief and love.
Elderly(hood)
Composed of 26 portraits, this section focuses on longevity, tradition and identity. The themes that predominated the photographic narratives were: grief, loss, faith, memory, love and craftsmanship, and the narratives consistently denoted resilience. A relevant aspect is how resilience is practiced. This section shows that resilience mechanisms are consistently found in traditional practices, being the most prominent through food, religion and clothing.For instance, key terms representing these mechanisms of resilience are: taqiyyah, bolà fíra and the Holy Quran.
[Azimul Hasson,"Noor Ahmed", 2022, "Añrá Rohingya"]
Lastly, this section establishes most of the factual information on the Rohingya crisis. I interpret this through longevity, since older people had witnessed historical events from which they extrapolate a sense of belonging and identity: "Born in 1920…, he is one of the oldest Rohingya living in the Refugee Camp in Cox's Bazar. He has been an eye-witness to many historical events… [and] been a refugee three times." Moreover, identity is also contested as an static and interchangeable concept, symbolized by aesthetic artifacts such as family photographs and identity cards.
Repatriating the voices of diaspora: A multidisciplinary discussion
The central element bringing theoretical conversations is how photo-narratives allow understanding diaspora as a category of practice. To this end, Brubaker's proponent that diaspora as a category of practice, should be understood as an idiom, stance or claim, is crucial to understand that “diaspora” is a byproduct of the migratory communities' experiences and actions. To Brubaker, these experiences and actions are reflected in how people “make claims, to articulate projects [and] mobilize energies” (Brubaker. 2005, p.10). In this sense, Rohingyatographer reflects what Brubakers’ see as a potential source of knowledge that arises from the community's agents.
The former idea implies that diaspora as a category of practice is an experiential reality. Therefore, something that can not be generalized since it regards individuals' sensorial experiences. Nevertheless, the articulation of experiences can be aided through photo-narrative means. Photo-narrative practices have the potential of being a medium of knowledge production in the subject of diaspora. In this context, it is relevant to introduce Foucaults' "regime of truth" (Foucault as in Hall, 1997, p.40-45). His view allows us to understand how visual discourses place individuals as part of the meaning and knowledge reproductions that are in constant fluidity. Informing from the Focauldian proponent, Azoulay's theory of photography as a "civil contract" articulates the power that photography has as a channel for meaning creation but also resistance. Azoulay places the photograph's meaning as a result of the constant interaction with other spectators and their contexts. Therefore, the "civil contract of photography" provides an equal space for individuals to contest meaning reproductions, which she calls "an equal space of resistance" (Zackari, 2020, p. 73). In this context, the project "Añrá Rohingya" not only constitutes a claim and stance about their community's identity as diaspora. It also constitutes a space of equal resistance to what diaspora from a generalized view arbitrarily attributes to the Rohingya refugee community. Along these lines, the centrality that "Añrá Rohingya" gives to its participants memorial sensitivities, helps reinforcing the instrumentality of photo-narratives in aiding diaspora as a practice. The former approach directly speaks to what Mokherjee emphasizes is the role of memory in photography. He stresses that memory, through photo-narratives, is "the mode through which… hegemonic [denominations] can be resisted, and alternative versions can be brought to the surface" (Mookherjee, 2018, p.202).
Lastly, Callahan's approach of "cultural sovereignty" allows one to theorize how the diverse cultural expressions displayed in "Añrá Rohingya'', make diaspora a culturally fluid category of practice. As Callahan explains "visual images, artifacts and performances are a key site for [the] mix of culture and global politics (Callahan, 2018, p.82). Therefore, the cultural narratives of each Rohingya informs "cultural sovereignty," experiences and meanings (Callahan, 2018, p.82).
Concluding remarks
This project proposed that for diaspora to be established as a category of analysis, there must first be a clear understanding and active approach to diaspora as an intrinsic category of practice. Significant scholarly discussions emphasized that diaspora as a category of analysis overgeneralizes individual experiences of migratory communities. Thus, pushing for means and approaches that would help understand diaspora as a category of practice. From these constructive and critical discussions is where this project emerged, by proposing to explore the question of: How does photo-narrative collaborative projects help articulating a new understanding of the concept of diaspora as a category of practice? To address this inquiry, the paper presents an analysis of the collaborative and community-based project Rohingyatographer through its virtual photographic exhibition "Añrá Rohingya'' (We are Rohingya). The analysis findings are not fixed, but rather offer three constructive insights. First, that diaspora as a category of analysis will never be an objective theorization of diaspora communities, if articulated experiences are disregarded as legitimate sources of knowledge. Second, photo-narrative projects play a crucial role as an instrumental and methodological approach to grasp nuances in forced migration that only come from the local and inform the global. Lastly, it is mainly through the narrative and visual practices that a space for knowledge reproduction and resistance can be established, since it is through the sensorial that we experience, but only through the language and symbols that we articulate such experiences.
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