Iranian born and raised, Bahare is a documentary photographer currently residing in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
in 2007 Bahare took a one year internship at David Hou’s photography studio. She has worked and volunteered with a number of organizations since 2007 including Amnesty International, Crohn’s and Colitis Canada, and Diabetes Hope Foundation.
Five years after the massive earth quake in Haiti, many people still live in tents and temporary shelters with no support or basic sanitation. Mozayik is one of these temporary camps with 126 registered residents, many women and children. The residents of Mozayik have been evacuated from their camps twice by the government and had to find a new place to set up the tents because of land issues. First evacuation was in May 2012 when they were forced to move to a deserted area about an hour drive away from Port-au-Prince.
In December 2013, once again, residents of Camp Mozayik were violently forced to evacuate. They were beaten and their properties were damaged by government authorities and thugs.
Disappointed an unsure about their future these families now live in another piece of land, still far from town. Tents are overcrowded, there are no toilets and they have to pay to get drinking water from water trucks.
This series of portraits is of women of Camp Mozayik in their living environment. Read their stories and ongoing struggles in the captions.
Photo by Bahare Khodabandeh, Jan 11 2015, Haiti.
Almate, 10, has been living in Camp Mozayik since 2012 (first evacuation). She is currently living with her father who is often away in the city to find work. Photo by Bahare Khodabandeh, Jan 11 2015, Haiti.
Darline, 32, lives with her three children and husband, in this small room. They also lost everything after the evacuation. The room is almost empty. Photo by Bahare Khodabandeh, Jan 11 2015, Haiti.
These two sisters had to send their children (7 all together) to friends’ house in Croix de Bouquet after the second evacuation. They rely on washing clothes for others for financial support. Photo by Bahare Khodabande, Jan 11 2015, Haiti.
Photo by Bahare Khodabandeh, Jan 11 2015, Haiti.
Jean baptiste, 13, lives with her parents and sister. It takes her three hours to get to school in Port-au-Prince on tab tab(Haiti’s public transport system). Her mother sells bread on the side of the road close to the camp to support their family. Jean baptiste wants to be a doctor when she grows up. Photo by Bahare Khodabandeh, Jan 11 2015, Haiti.
Nadine, 22, lives with her two year old child. She leaves the baby with friends and neighbors to go to town for work. She gets occasional cleaning work in houses and restaurants. Photo by Bahare Khodabandeh, Jan 11 2015, Haiti.
Monita , 28, lives with her two children and brother. She receives occasional financial help from friends and her brother who works in construction. Photo by Bahare Khodabande, Jan 11 2015, Haiti.
Adrienne, 55, lives with her young daughter. She normally sells what she can get in the market (very common among Haitian women) but lately she has been suffering from pain in her feet and has not been able to work. Photo by Bahare Khodabandeh, Jan 11 2015, Haiti.
Patricia, 32, lives in the tent on her own. She had to send her three children to Gonaïves to live her parents after the second evacuation. She has stays in Camp Mozayik to work and send money for the kids. Photo by Bahare Khodabandeh, Jan 11 2015, Haiti.
Photo by Bahare Khodabande, Jan 11 2015, Haiti.
Jorazil, 53, lives with her two children. They share the tent a friend and her three kids (7 residents all together). She sells fried food for money. Photo by Bahare Khodabandeh, Jan 11 2015, Haiti.
Christelle, 36, lives with her three kids and husband. They also rely on occasional gifts from friends for financial support. Christelle mentioned that they have to use the nearby ravine as toilet which is very problematic when it rains and the waste gets floating in the water. Photo by Bahare Khodabandeh, Jan 11 2015, Haiti.
Photo by Bahare Khodabandeh, Jan 11 2015, Haiti.
December 2013, once again, residents of Camp Mozayik were violently forced to evacuate: watch the video
