The birthplace of Christianity lies on the Iranian slopes from Mount Ararat
to Mount Lebanon. Since those ancient times, the rugged valleys and gorges
have served as a refuge for monastic communities and those in search of
solitude. Nowadays, 12 million Christians are assumed to live in the Middle
East, but only a few of them remain to live in the region because of radical
Islam and persecutions; millions have relocated to North America, Europe
and Australia.
Linda Dorigo and Andrea Milluzzi travelled through Iran, Lebanon, Egypt,
Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Jordan, Turkey and Syria. They were
driven towards the small Christian communities that choose to not be part
of the diaspora.
While the Middle East was being turned upside-down by revolutions and by
a fractured war inside Islam, Christians became a religious minority, disillusioned
witnesses closed in their self-defence.
The recent developments in the Middle East, including the horrific cruelties
perpetrated predominantly against Christians by Islamic State, makes Rifugio
an essential document for all those interested in world politics.
Rifugio is, also because of the latest developments in the Middle East, including the horrific cruelties against Christians and Muslims by the Islamic State, extremely topical and of utmost importance.
Linda Dorigo is an independent photojournalist and documentary photographer currently based between Italy and the Middle East. Andrea Milluzzi is a freelance journalist; previously he has worked at the Italian newspaper Liberazione. Together, based in Beirut, they are focused on documenting the Middle East region.
