A grandmother figure sits quietly, eating saffron-coloured rice out of a metallic tray. Her weather-beaten face betrays little emotion, barring her resilience in a conflict-hit tribal area.
The image forms part of the “Pakistani People and United Nations” photo exhibition that opened at Lok Virsa on Monday.
Sara Farid, who has captured the elderly woman’s photograph, is one of the featured artists in the exhibition.
Commemorating the United Nations Day that was observed last Friday, the exhibition, comprising 66 photographs, documents human stories on education, employment, food and nutrition, health, gender equality and social justice, human trafficking, humanitarian assistance, peacekeeping, rule of law, governance and youth.
Farid’s photographs, which consist of multiple sections of the thematic exhibition, have captured lives of internally-displaced persons in Bannu.
“I went there and did reportage for a project on the internally displaced persons. These include people living in schools, children getting vaccinated for polio or men queuing up outside food-distribution centres,” said Farid, gesturing towards a section displaying her photographs.
A selection of unique photos depicting Pakistani peacekeepers was also included in the exhibition to pay tribute to the contribution of UN peacekeeping missions around the world.
UN Information Centre Director Vittorio Cammarota was of the opinion that photography was one of the most powerful tools to share human stories.
UN Pakistan Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Timo Pakkala, said, “The photo exhibition highlights the unique cultural and society diversity of Pakistan. It also describes the work of the United Nations in a way that words could probably not.”
By giving a human face to our mission, the exhibition contributes significantly to raising awareness among Pakistani people about the United Nations, he added.
Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Pervez Rasheed, who inaugurated the exhibition, said, “We highly appreciate the work of the United Nations in Pakistan, which is aligned with our national priorities.”
Under the ‘One UN’ programme, the world peace body is promoting issues of importance such as education, health, youth, women empowerment, poverty alleviation, food security, climate change and human rights, he added.
The exhibition, that was attended by diplomats, government and UN officials, representatives from the civil society and non-governmental organisations, academia and media professionals, will continue till November 26.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 29th, 2014.
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