Our Exhibit

Our exhibit, “Forgotten.”

In December 2012, Katie Basbagill (www.bohemianredimages.com), an accomplished human rights photo journalist volunteered her time and skills to visit the camps and capture the spirit of the camp residents on film.

The result was beautiful and captivating photos that culiminated in a large scale photo exhibit titled, “Forgotten.” This exhibit premiered at the Harrison Center for the Arts in Indianapolis in June of 2013. It has been travelling around the city since then and has exhibited at the St.Luke’s Methodist Church,  The Indianapolis Central Library, The Indiana Interchurch Center, the ISNA convention, the Athenaeum and the Second Presbyterian Church. If you are interested in hosting it at your place of work, worship or at a gallery, write to us at contact@obathelpers.org.

The exhibit in Katie’s words

The result of a conflict that happened over forty years ago, hundreds of thousands of Bihari/stranded Pakistani people are now scattered across Bangladesh. They live in camps in squalid conditions and the international community seems to have forgotten about them. This is a photo exhibition about their lives. These are their stories of hope and resilience.  Resilience, by definition, means that one has the ability to withstand difficult circumstances. In this case, difficult is an understatement.

This photo exhibition came to life through a series of coincidental circumstances and is the result of numerous hours of collaboration between many people. It’s dedicated to those residing in the camps. Your stories of courage, joy, perseverance, and steadfast resilience are impossible to articulate in words – these photographs are an attempt to capture the spirit of resilience and hope.