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Community Bulletin Board

Rocamora's photos of Yolanda's impact call for more protection of the displaced


These pictures paint thousands of sorrowful words. Hopefully, they will also lead to a change for the better.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is staging a photo exhibition on Filipinos displaced by Typhoon Yolanda featuring the work of award-winning documentary photographer Rick Rocamora at the Philippine Senate Session Hallway.

In the face of the typhoon’s aftermath, UNHCR supports the enactment of a law in the Philippines for the protection of internally-displaced persons (IDPs).



If passed, this law will make the Philippines the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to have comprehensive legislation that safeguards people from arbitrary displacement and guarantees the rights of IDPs in accordance with international standards, notably the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement.

Rick Rocamora is an award-winning documentary photographer based in Oakland, California. He is the author of “Filipino WWII Soldiers – America’s Second-Class Veterans.”

His work is widely published in print and online, and exhibited in museums and galleries
world wide. His work is part of the permanent collection of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.



His most recent work in the Philippines, Life’s Arcade: Quiapo, was exhibited at the Jorge Vargas Museum at the University of the Philippines, Diliman Campus that featured Rodallie S. Mosende, a homeless student on Paterno Street who was a recipient of a college scholarship and stipend from an anonymous donor who saw the visual story of Mosende.

The images for this exhibit were shot with one Fuji Xpro1 body and Fuji 14mm 2.8 lens.

Rocamora's statement on the photos is as follows:

The unexpected assignment from UNHCR to document the aftermath of typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda and their work on the ground gave me the opportunity to document a disaster in the Philippines for the first time. In my previous visits on assignment for other projects, I keep missing the opportunity to document the aftermath of disasters that affected our people.

This is my first assignment for a United Nations agency and it was a great learning experience to work with them. Their work is not just about relief distribution but also to make sure that the rights of the survivors are protected and to assist local government institutions in planning and implementation of relief operations based on their years of experience helping displaced people world wide. I have observed first hand their passion and commitment to help those in need. As a Filipino, I joined everyone in expressing our sincerest appreciation for the help they are giving the survivors of Haiyan.

Working for 20 days at ground zero of the super typhoon was not easy but hopefully my work will help contribute in creating awareness of the need that we as people and as a nation have to do to rehabilitate their lives and their land. I am committed to do my share in this effort.

Thank you to Secretary Oscar Yabes and his staff for assisting us in exhibiting my work with UNHCR.

Maraming salamat,

Rick Rocamora



Press release and photos from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

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