Donald Trump’s Travel Ban Prompts Artist Exhibition Of Refugee Children Portraits
Visual artist Claire Salvo is the mind behind a new exhibit called “Refuge,” – a showcase of refugee portraits designed to put the spotlight on refugee children who will be affected by U.S. President Donald Trump’s travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries. Salvo photographed, interviewed and sketched 15 children for the works exhibited in “Refuge.”
According to a Huffington Post report, Salvo who worked with a refugee aid organization in Pennsylvania, conceptualized the project last year as a means to try and de-politicize the discussion around refugee resettlement. One of her main points is that more than half of the refugees around the world are children.
“I wanted to remove the political aspect and just make it human,” Salvo told the Huffington Post. Adding that children refugee have had no say in their current state, and often have known no world beyond refugee camps. “These are the people the President Trump wants to close our doors to,” she added.
Salvo lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania – a city that is known as the U.S.’ refugee capital. As noted by the Huffington Post report, Lancaster takes in 20 times more refugees per capita than any other city in America. It was there that the local branch of World Church Service helped her locate families interested in taking part in the project.
As noted by the BBC, Donald Trump’s executive order bans entry for all refugees and visitors from seven predominantly Muslim countries. Shortly after the order caused widespread chaos and protests, a federal judge has temporarily put a stop to the travel ban.
On Tuesday, the Justice Department urged appeal judges to reinstate the order. The seven countries included in the ban include Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The order also prohibits even those with U.S. visas from entering the country. The order likewise puts a cap on the total U.S. refugee admissions at 50,000.
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