The biblical parable of the Good Samaritan is Jesus’ response to a challenging question posed by an audience member: who is my neighbor?  This ethnographic photo series scours the urban landscape of Rotterdam to find answers to this very question. 

The Dutch city of Rotterdam gave the country’s far right, anti-immigrant party, the PVV, most of the votes that secured its stunning electoral victory In November 2023. One of Europe’s most ethnically diverse cities voted overwhelmingly for a political party that spent years campaigning on a blatantly racist, anti-diversity platform. As both an immigrant and a Rotterdammer, I am faced with many questions: is my neighbor someone who actively seeks to erase me? In times of trouble, would my neighbor help me or leave me for dead?    

Where There Is No Neighbour explores the discrepancy between the Netherlands’ reputation as a progressive, tolerant country, and its deeply xenophobic underbelly. Drawing inspiration from numerous stories I have collected and my own personal experiences, this series focuses on the painful feelings of loneliness, alienation and exclusion one faces as an outsider to this society.