Not a Palestinian photographer

Raad Bouaya was a construction worker, cleaner in Jerusalem until he decided to fulfill dreams of becoming photographer. Though his past includes arrest for being illegal alien, Bouaya swears his work is non-political. 'I look for humanity without political, local identity,' he says
Goel Pinto

Until the age of 30 Palestinian photographer Raad Bouaya worked as a construction worker and a cleaner in Jerusalem. "I built in all the settlements," he said, smiling with a hint of embarrassment. After graduating from Musrara School of Photography at age 36, Bouaya is living in Paris and exhibiting his work all over Europe with a grant from the Paris Municipality. On Thursday an exhibit of his work opened in Tel Aviv.

The exhibit, aptly named Journey, bands together a series of photographs taken on Bouaya's journey through the Palestinian territories, Romania, Israel, and France.

Woman in pain. From 'Journey'

Bouaya was born in a small village in the West Bank. When he was seven, his father died in a car accident, leaving behind a wife and nine children. "I had to go to work," he said, "to help the family's economy." He began laboring in the fields picking cherries, peaches, and plums. Upon graduating from high school he began working in Israel, and spent 14 years as a construction worker.

In photo: Boaya's sister

About ten years ago he began working as a cleaner of Jewish homes in Jerusalem. It was in the home of one such Jewish woman, with whom he became friendly, where he dared to express his fond hopes of becoming a photographer. The woman referred him to the Musrara photography school, where he began to fulfill his dream.

"It was a difficult decision," he said. "The lack of understanding of the people around me, who didn't understand what it meant to study photography, made things hard for me. To them, photography is the simple act of taking a camera, pushing the button, and taking a photo. They don't understand why someone would study it, and for four years, no less. To them it is a waste of time."

Bouaya: I was an illegal alien

Bouaya's work brings to light the human aspect of photography. "My heart leans towards social problems," he said. "I look for the humanity, without the political identity, without the location identity. Just people, especially on social outskirts."

Though he attempted to stay away from political identity, Bouaya was not always able to escape the long arm of the law as an illegal alien living in Jerusalem during the second Intifada. "I would wake up every day before sunrise and spend over an hour crossing two mountains on foot until I arrived in Abu Gosh, where I would catch a bus to Jerusalem," he recounted.

From 'Journey': Romanian boy

Then, during his fourth year of school, he was caught. "I sat in an Israeli prison for ten days," he said. "It was only due to the school's interference that I was released, but I was prohibited from entering Israel for a year. It was a big crisis for me. Seemingly before that I was free, studying, hanging out with Jewish friends, and suddenly I was in prison."

Despite all this, Bouaya insists that his photos carry a human message devoid of politics. "From the beginning I made a conscious decision to skip the ideas of 'local identity' and 'political identity'. This is also why I relinquish the title of 'Palestinian photographer'. It's true I was born in Palestine but I am first and foremost a photographer. Unfortunately there were times in which I was invited to shows as a wall decoration for political aims – and that's insulting."