Exhibitio`n showcases hospitality for IDPs

The story of internally displaced people isn’t just about horror and deprivation. There’s art and hospitality to it as well, an exhibition has shown. The government of the Netherlands has begun a series of photo exhibitions to celebrate the hospitality of people affected by conflict in Nigeria’s north east. The photos are a collection named […]

The story of internally displaced people isn’t just about horror and deprivation. There’s art and hospitality to it as well, an exhibition has shown.
The government of the Netherlands has begun a series of photo exhibitions to celebrate the hospitality of people affected by conflict in Nigeria’s north east.
The photos are a collection named ‘Nigerian Hospitality’ from Dutch photographer, Chris de Bode and plays out a graphic pictorial story of host communities that have taken on the bulk of humanitarian burden despite their lean resources.
The pictures were taken from different locations in Yola as part of the Nigerian Joint Response, a partnership of Oxfam Novib, Tear/Tearfund, Stichting Vluchteling/IRC, led by Save the Children.
“Nigerian Hospitality’ showcases IDPs and host communities resilience and shows that no matter the situation, the Nigerian spirit and culture of hospitality will always save the day,” said James Bigila, media coordinator for Save the Children.
“The photos demonstrate the hospitality of the host communities in north east Nigeria where about 92% of the over 2.2 million people who fled their homes as a result of the conflict are residing.”
Abuja is the first stop for the exhibition, which will travel to other locations across the country and internationally, said the Netherlands ambassador John Groffen at the Dutch Embassy in Abuja on Thursday.
“When I arrived Nigeria in the summer of 2013, the north east was on lockdown due to the State of Emergency that had just been declared. No news on developments reached us in Abuja,” said Groffen.
“The information situation improved near the end of 2014 and that is when we first became aware of the terrible tragedy that was taking place in the north east as a result of the fight against Boko Haram,” the ambassador said.
The 2016 Humanitarian Needs Overview indicates only about 8% of the IDPs live in the formal camps, leaving the remaining 92% in the host communities, with limited and overstretched resources.
Mr. Groffen said the Netherlands government, through the Dutch Relief Alliance, comprising four organisations of the Nigeria Joint Response has spent about €5 million in providing humanitarian assistance to the displaced persons in the north east.