Tag: night

Transit Camp Mechelen


① memo 20170727 ~ Transit Camp Mechelen ~ Today 75 years ago on July 27, 1942 the “SS-Sammellager Mechelen” collection and deportation camp was opened in the former barracks “Kazerne Dossin”. The building now houses the Kazerne Dossin memorial , filmed here in 2013 – Mechelen , Belgium.

Béguinage shadows

 

Béguinage shadows | 20151115 | Final cut today at Vimeo of our Afghan refugee interview* at the ‘Afghan camp’ inside the Béguinage Church in Brussels, Belgium – March 17, 2014 .

*One Afghan gentleman, who asked to remain anonymous, told us about his journey to Brussels. Interview anonymized by reconstruction using a disguised voice-over and visual and auditory imagery (organ Félix Snyers) captured March-April 2014 in the Church of Saint John the Baptist at the Béguinage in Brussels.

“When you are working with America or other organizations in Afghanistan the Taliban is a big problem. I was with the forces in Kandahar Province for one year. This was a big, big company in Kandahar. After one year the Taliban send some letters to my family saying, ‘Your son is working for the enemy.’ And they said, ‘He will come and he will work with us.’ Then I went to my home. And after the Taliban found out about me, I came to Iran, then I went to Europe, and this country.”

More about the Beguinage Project here  and here . 

Reportage by Kristen Cattell (USA) and Michel van der Burg (Holland) | Beguinage Project .
Film : Béguinage shadows | 20151115 | michelvanderburg.com

TAGS #1Memo #michelvanderburg #BeguinageProject #houseofcompassionbrussels #Beguinage #church #Afghan #camp #refugee #tent #shelter #interview #Taliban #Belgium #Brussels #KristenCattell #asylum #undocumented #sanspapier #diversity #rights

Raging Fire | 20140915

Raging Fire | 20140915 | 1-memo•com | Heerenlogement building in Leiden, Sept 15, 1976.
In the early hours of Sept 15, 1976 the historic Heerenlogement buidling (1652 – Leiden , Holland) was on fire. I was living nearby then at the bottom of the ‘De Burcht’ (a 11th century shell keep). After midnight I was listening to music via headphones when I noticed the sound of the raging flames. I took my Asahi Pentax SLR camera and tripod and went up the hill of De Burcht to take pictures around 1.30 AM.
Image Michel van der Burg – scan of vintage print on silk-screened – grid – photo paper, making it difficult to scan and a lot of work to restore the image.

Citation : Raging Fire | 20140915 | 1-memo•com | Heerenlogement building in Leiden, Sept 15, 1976. | TakeNode ID 1fbb58a8-f0c5-4c26-b711-06a02867a110

Just before the fire it had been decided to start the restauration of this monument (once a ‘city inn’) as a future location for a new central public library. The attached scaffolding is showing in this picture.
Two weeks later a 17 year-old pyromaniac confessed having set fire to the buiding – he had actually helped that night extinguising the fire and getting coffee for the fire brigade. July 1980 the new public library moved in a the beautifully restaured Heerenlogement building. I – being a ‘poor’ student with a part time evening job – sold some negatives but not the copyright of my images 😉 for 400 dutch guilders (around $200) to the head of that library who planned to have a large print made for the boardroom … and, so I could have a short vacation in Normandie with my future wife and kids 😉 The official opening by queen Beatrix was in 1981.
The image below shows the front page and 1 page inside from the library pamphlet on the opening 11 june 1981.

Library pamphlet 1981 | 20140915_2 | 1-memo•com | TakeNode ID ec58e683-6b7c-48f5-8fda-6f0fca60ea86

TAGS #michelvanderburg #1Memo #Holland #Burcht #Leiden #city #Heerenlogement #building #history #medieval #inn #CV #photography #freelance #vintage #print #night #flame #library #opening #pamphlet #queen #Beatrix #photography #portfolio #Asahi #Pentax #SLR #camera #silk #paper #brigade #pyromaniac

Nazi Family | 20140907

Nazi Family | 20140907 | 1-memo•com | Berlin taxi driver anecdote “… my grandfather was a nazi…..”
That night last year in Berlin – Sept. 7, 2013 – returning to my hotel by taxi from the Internationales Literaturfestival Berlin ( ilb’13 – at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele) – my around 55 years old Berliner taxi driver told me, he was working only at night for some 20 years now.
Just before he dropped me at my hotel near the Berlin Central Station – after he had silently listened during the ride, to my detailed account of my filming earlier that evening a reportage of the story of Simon Gronowski and Koenraad Tinel at the festival – he finally replied : “I was told only very recently by my father , that my grandfather was a nazi…..” .

TakeNode ID 93c44ec4-4c50-4439-942e-678700e40baa

TAGS #michelvanderburg #1Memo #Berlin #Germany #taxi #driver #anecdote #story #nazi #family #grandfather #holocaust #Internationales #Literaturfestival #Berlin #13ilb #night #ILB