It has never been about the amount of likes.

‘Humans of Amsterdam’ was born out of passion for photography, storytelling and a special city called Amsterdam.
Three years have passed, and even though it has never been about the amount likes, it’s amazing to see how many warm-hearted souls are actively part of this community.
I started this journey inspired by pages such as ‘Humans of New York’ and ‘Humans of Tel Aviv’ not really knowing what I was getting myself into.
This journey has taught me more than probably any educational institution could have ever done. I met so many wonderful people and had the honor to capture their stories.
The most important lesson I have learned is that story telling can save lives. It is probably the most powerful and genuine tool there is to another human being’s heart.
I’m also very proud to announce that next week I will open my first Humans of Amsterdam Exhibition. About 80 photo’s and stories will be up from the 11th of September until the 30th of November in the public Library in Amsterdam near the Central Station. The entrance is free. In the next few months I will personally give a few tours through the Exhibition. It would be great to be finally able meet some of you there!

At the moment, no exact dates have been set yet but if you are interested to be a part of a tour, please send me an email to: humansofamsterdam@gmail.com subject: Humans of Amsterdam Exhibition tour.

For now, I really want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart,
@debrabarraud

“When I told my dad I wanted to travel the world but that I was too afraid to do it all by myself, he said: ’‘If you are always going to wait for other people to join you, there is a big chance you will never get to do the things you dream of.”

“This is her look when mummy dresses her..”

“Her dad and I really love dressing her up. We both get to dress her on different days. Today it was her father’s turn.”

“Together with my younger sister and pregnant mother we fled from Iran. I was only eleven years old but I remember everything very well. The first thing I saw when we arrived at the airport was a young couple kissing in public. Something I wasn’t used to. We were placed in a refugee center and applied for citizenship. We kept moving from one refugee center to another without any clarity about the future. That changed autumn 2005. It was six o’clock in the morning when the police woke us up. They said we had to leave the country and for the meantime we were placed in a detention center which is a fancy word for prison. The days passed by and after seven weeks they decided to review our case. When you go through something like that it’s hard to believe in the future. One year after that we got released and we received our residence permits. Slowly I started to move forward and make plans. I auditioned for the theatre school in Maastricht and surprisingly I got accepted. Even though I’m not a refugee anymore it still influences my life and also my work as an actor. For example, right now I’m working on a production called ‘Nobody Home’. The title says it all. When you are a refugee you don’t belong anywhere. ”
– Saman Amini

———————————————————-
This photo is a repost and a part of an upcoming “Humans of Amsterdam” Exhibition in the Public Library of Amsterdam (Near the central station). The exhibition contains photos taken in the past two years. It will be up from September until November 2015.

“After I came back from my travel to south East Asia I felt that I wanted to help others. I figured the best way I could do that was by going to University and do a Bachelor’s programme in Pedagogical Sciences. I really wanted to be able to understand other people’s problems. I could see myself working with troubled teens or addicts. In the programme we had a drama class and the idea was to learn how to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. For the first assignment I had to pretend I was a piece of fireworks. Later on the assignments got more complex. Together with my classmate we had to build a human Spaghetti Bridge. I just couldn’t figure out what the connection was between me wanting to help others and being a string of spaghetti. So I quit.”