Vision Education was honored to welcome Lâm Duc Hiên, the French photojournalist whose monumental documentary project Kurdistan Mon Ami translated into English as “My Beloved Kurdistan” embodies a three-decade commitment to the people of Iraqi Kurdistan.
Accompanying him during the visit were Magdalena Sodomková, a renowned Czech journalist and long-time collaborator of Mr. Hiên; Dr. Sirwan Abdulkarim Ali, translator of the Kurdish edition into Arabic; and Mr. Rawand Darwesh, project manager.
Lâm Duc Hiên is internationally recognized for documenting the human dimensions of war, exile, and displacement. After fleeing to France in 1978, he earned a master’s degree in fine arts in Lyon and dedicated his career to portraying resilience and dignity amid adversity. His acclaimed works, including Des Gens d’Irak (People of Iraq) and Le Mékong have been widely published and exhibited around the world. He is a recipient of the World Press Photo Award and several foundation prizes honoring his lifelong engagement with humanitarian storytelling.
My Beloved Kurdistan stands as a poignant visual chronicle of thirty years of Kurdish history. In March 1991, at the height of the humanitarian crisis following Saddam Hussein’s bombings, Lâm Duc Hiên first travelled to Iraqi Kurdistan with the French association Équilibre to assist devastated communities.
He later returned as a photojournalist, carrying with him a box of photographs from the 1990s. He sought out the individuals he had once portrayed, faces marked by time yet illuminated by resilience. Through these encounters, Hiên reveals the enduring strength and cultural diversity of a land where Muslims, Christians, Yezidis, Kakais, Mandeans, Zoroastrians, and Jews have long lived side by side.
His approach remains profoundly human and intimate: “I make my portraits as close to people as possible, until I can see myself in their pupils. I see myself in their eyes.”
Vision Education supported the English and Arabic translations of Kurdistan Mon Ami, which had previously been published in French, Kurdish, and Czech.
This collaboration reflects Vision Education’s enduring commitment to preserving cultural memory and promoting the values of coexistence, resilience, and shared humanity that lie at the heart of the Kurdish story.