I am a freelance photographer and videographer working for news and humanitarian organizations. I am originally from Peru, fluent in Spanish and also speak Turkish and French. I am a graduate of the photojournalism program at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Upstate New York.
2016 - Fellow, 2014 - Honorable Mention, 2014 - Award of excellence
After years of violence and persecution, Iraqi Christians are fleeing their ancestral land to never return. They are Assyrians, an ethnic group from the Middle East. But moving West from Turkey it is not quick nor easy. Refugees have to navigate a complex process that often takes many years to complete. These photos document their time waiting in Turkey. A baptism takes place at a home in Tokat, a city in central Turkey. In this city there are are no churches and no Catholic priests, so Iraqi Christian refugee families have to wait until the only Chaldean Catholic priest who does pastoral work visits from Istanbul. There are more than 800 Iraqi Christian refugees in Tokat.
Samir Khanoo Solaqa, Hirmiz Khanoo Solaqa, Boshra Khanoo Solaqa, Lina Gergees, from right, stand next to the grave of Khanoo Solaqa Shabo, 82, after his funeral, in an area reserved for Christians at the Mamak Ortakoy cemetery in Ankara, Turkey. They are from the Mosul area of Iraq and have lived in Turkey for three and a half years as refugees. They have come from Afyon to bury their father as there are no Christian cemeteries there.
Toma Mikhael Shamoon, 67, photographed at his home in Istanbul, Turkey. He is from Zakho in northern Iraq and moved to Syria and then to Turkey fleeing war and persecution. In Turkey four of his seven children received visas to resettle in the United States. Toma and his wife Um Basim's applications were denied. In February 2017 Toma was diagnosed with lung cancer. He said that dealing with health issues far away from his children was extremely hard. "All I care about is being with my family," he said. After his application was denied he appealed. On September 27 he received a call from the U.S. embassy in Ankara, Turkey and received an appointment for October 15. He died on October 5.