In the fall of 2009 Izabella Demavlys made the drastic decision to travel to Pakistan to meet women whom had survived brutal Acid attacks. After having been involved in the fashion world for years, listening and observing people ideas about beauty, she went to Pakistan in search for her own vision of what that word really meant. Her viewpoint being that beauty isn’t merely about appearance, but the triumph of personal struggles, the radiation of inner strength and accomplishments throughout life.

Copyright Izabella Demavlys / Babel Images

Belarus – the last European dictatorship. In European media Belarus has the face of Lukashenko – its president and one and only sovereign. We know a lot about persecution of political opposition, the lack of freedom of expression, about students expelled from universities for taking part in opposition rallies, but we would never think that in this police state one can find true hippies.

Belarussian hippies being permanently watched by uniforms and plainclothes, managed to find their own little zone of freedom. Rainbow Gathering in Belarus is like a fire in the water – the fulfilment of freedom in regime.

Copyright Mieszko Stanislawski / Babel Images

Walk into any hutment of slum 36 of Rajabazar in east Kolkata and the story is same. One small, dark and damp room inhabited by eight to ten odd family members; abject poverty, inhuman living conditions and limited or no access to basic health care. Average daily income is around Rs 50. Just to make ends meet many make cardboard boxes. The rate- Rs 25 for thousand boxes. The elderly are the worst affected. Smoke from ovens and pollution cause eye and respiratory diseases making them a liability for their families. Help comes occasionally in the form of medical camps set up by NGOs. This project follows such a group of elderly residents from the slums suffering from cataract and documents their journey from darkness to light.

Copyright Chhandak Pradhan / Babel Images

Every year Shia Muslims worldwide celebrate the Day of Ashura, their most important holy day. It falls on the 10th day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic lunar calendar. Shiites commemorate the martyrdom of Husain ibn Ali who was brutally killed during the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD in present day Iraq. Husain is recognized by the Shiites as the third Imam, the rightful successor of his grandfather Muhammad and the greatest hero of Shiite Muslims.

Copyright Aleksander Bochenek / Babel Images

Mitrovica (serb. Kosovska Mitrovica) – the city in north Kosovo divided between Serbs and Albanians. The river Ibar which floats through the city is de facto the border between Serbia and Kosovo. There, in 2004 started ‘the march riots’ which later spread all over the country. Mitrovica is the Kosovo in a nutshell.

Copyright Mieszko Stanislawski / Babel Images

The Philippines, Manila, 2009. Overpopulation in southwestern Asia is a very well know problem. There are about 16 million people living in Manila. Many Filipinos decide to leave their poor provinces, and move to the ‘rich’ capital to start a new life. They usually manage to find a job but their salary, of about two dollars, doesn’t allow for anything but a very simple meal. They live on the streets and all they own is a couple of plastic bags. In such system children are the ones who suffer the most. They spend all their time on the streets and eventually get into alcohol, drugs and prostitution.

Copyright Adam Kokot / Babel Images

On 15th October 2009 the first elections after declaration of independence took place in Kosovo. There were big tensions from the government in Belgrade to prohibit Serbs living in Kosovo from taking part in elections, as it would mean that they recognize Kosovo’s independence (Serbia doesn’t recognize it), but still many of them took part in elections.

Copyright Mieszko Stanislawski / Babel Images

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