Multimedia journalist

Covering stories with an emphasis on human rights and migration in Central Asia and Russia.

Not long after moving to Moscow for an exchange program, Central Asian labor migrants attracted my attention. Sweeping the streets, working as a cashier in the supermarket or cleaning cars in underground carwashes. Who are these men and women and which place do they call home? On one particular Saturday evening, I started a conversation with a lady from Central Asia attending the cloakroom of a bar. Already in her 50’s, she had moved to Russia, working day and night shifts at different jobs to make sure her children and grandchildren would be able to attend school and have a good life. I was astonished and intrigued. It shaped my path in the years to follow.

Central Asia is a region underrepresented in the media, research and academia. After graduating from a BA in European Studies and an MA in Politics, Security and Integration from University College London (School of Slavonic and East European Studies), I decided to contribute to this underrepresentation of Central Asia.

In my work I tend to build personal relationships and follow people over a longer period of time. My curiosity urges me to understand what drives people and to observe how choices influence someone’s life overtime. Photography and film allow me to share this with the viewer.

Long term and ongoing projects include father will be home soon about labor migration from Central Asia to Russia and Wildness about bride kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan.

Wildness has been selected for the Jakarta International Photo Festival 2019.