America In the Balkans

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America In the Balkans

To someone living in the Balkans, America feels like a protest chant that has been sang so much, it's lost its meaning.

Tirana, June 2014

This article originally appeared on VICE Greece

To someone living in the centre of the Greek crisis, experiencing the rapid social changes happening in the Balkans, America will always feel like a faraway, terrifying castle, guarded by the sea. America is demonised and dreamy, semantically charged, peppered with Hollywood glitter – a protest chant that has been sang so much, it's lost its meaning.

At the same time, to people living in the Balkan peninsula, the upcoming American elections and the fear of a President Trump are a painful reminder of how little say we have in the fate of our countries. In an attempt to turn that feeling into images, a few years ago, I started to photograph the people I see on the street who randomly, and often unconsciously, wear or carry the American flag. Here are some of those photos I took travelling around the Balkans.

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Idomeni refugee camp, February 2016

Tirana, June 2013

Thessaloniki, May 2016

Athens, May 2016

Idomeni refugee camp, April 2016

Tirana, June 2013