Why You Left, Who You Left

Tengbeh Kamara is working on a long-term photographic project titled "Why You Left – Who You Left” (2024-ongoing), based on their family history. Kamara’s father was the perfect refugee. He came to the Netherlands during the Liberian civil war in 1995, learned the language, went to school, found work in the public sector, married a Dutch woman, and settled in a quiet suburb. After the war, he returned to Liberia to build a school for former child soldiers. In doing so, he left behind his wife and three children.

For Kamara, the father’s return was initially understood as a heroic act of rebuilding the country he loved. For those around the family, it was an incomprehensible abandonment.

This conflict forms the core of the work. "Why You Left – Who You Left" looks at what it means to leave and to stay. In public debates about refugees, people often say: “go back to your own country.” This project follows a man who did, showing how complicated that choice can be—for the person who leaves and for those who remain.

The work consists of two parts. "Why You Left" was photographed in Liberia and shows the father’s life there, shaped by warmth, freedom, and everyday hospitality. "Who You Left" follows the mother and children in the Netherlands, focusing on what it means to grow up with an absent parent.