Middle East trip: Summer 2023.

I'm going in June, and I need your help to get there.

Apr 03, 2023

Hey, got some news for you –

I'm joining Beirut and Beyond and members of the Board of Advisors on a trip this June to the Middle East to work as a volunteer in Palestinian refugee camps for two weeks as a photographer and storyteller.

Several years ago, I got to see firsthand the projects, partners, and impact of the organization on a three week trip to Lebanon and Jordan with Suzann, the executive director of Beirut and Beyond. I offered my skills and time as a photographer, graphic designer, and writer to Beirut and Beyond and Palestinian-led partner organizations in the camps.

As Suzann led me through two camps, Shatila/Sabra in Beirut, and Gaza Camp in Jerash, I trailed behind trying to take it all in and capture on camera what I was seeing. I photographed the living conditions and overcrowded 70+ year old buildings that were meant to be temporary. It was jarring and surreal; a reality check to help me gain perspective on the importance of these partnerships and projects. I captured the hope and humanity and life I could see too.

My first trip was exhilarating and challenging and eye-opening. I’d heard of the realities of Palestinian refugees, their stories well-told through Beirut and Beyond. But it’s another journey to see it with your own eyes. To be in the same space. To ask for first-hand accounts of experiences and stories. To be tasked with capturing it fairly and ethically. To be charged with telling the real story upon returning home.

In the years since that trip, I’ve shared my experience and used my photos coupled with design to develop strong visual communication for Beirut and Beyond. Together, we’re still telling their story.

Why Lebanon and Jordan? Why now?

With no imminent right to return home for Palestinian refugees or path to citizenship in their host countries, the work continues because the need continues in Lebanon and Jordan.

For most Lebanese citizens, there’s about two hours of electricity a day and limited clean water supply. In recent years, currency values have plummeted, inflation has gone through the roof, and food insecurity has increased dramatically.

For the 500,000 Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon (who cannot obtain citizenship), factors such as continued lack of basic rights, exposure to violence, being barred from 70+ professions, lack of governance and security, severe loss of international funding to UNRWA who provides healthcare and education services, and even more scarce power and water resources on top of the oppression citizens face have all further devastated already-vulnerable refugees.

In Jordan, where more than 2 million Palestinian refugees are hosted, you’ll find some of the poorest camps with the highest poverty and unemployment rates in the Middle East.

My last visit to the Middle East was in 2019. Before the global pandemic. Before the Lebanon economic collapse. Before the Beirut Blast. In other words, a lot has changed in these past four years.

There are novel, harsher realities to capture. But I suspect there’s new, brighter hope to realize too. There have been innovative projects spurred out of lockdown and the desperation of the global pandemic and these recent years. There have been resources invested to empower refugees to give back to their communities, even in the midst of these economic and social uncertainties. There has been an uprising of leaders and change-makers in refugee communities who won’t settle for the status quo. The creativity and grit is endless: I know to expect to witness this.

Beirut and Beyond exists to do on-the-ground relational, relief, and reconciliation work with refugees to keep uplifting leaders, completing innovative projects, and providing resources to Palestinian-led organizations so they are equipped to serve their own communities successfully.

Why me?

For years, I’ve volunteered consistently for Beirut and Beyond in a design and visual storytelling capacity, all the while witnessing and helping it grow and adapt in a world that has allowed Palestinians to remain in refugee status for now 75 years. In some ways this upcoming trip is a culmination of work for me. In others, it’s a continuation.

Armed with a camera and a pen, I aim to capture it all again and continue to elevate the missions of Beirut and Beyond and their partners. I go alongside them to illustrate and amplify their stories. I also get to cultivate connection and relationships I have to people in the Middle East. This is where I’m needed most, how I can use my experience in the region and as a visual storyteller. This is how I’m most effective.

I believe in the power of excellent visual communication enough to volunteer my time, expertise, and resources to this effort. I do this for and with Beirut and Beyond because I trust their integrity, their leadership, and their influence. I believe they deserve quality visual art in their communications because I’ve seen their positive impact in Palestinian refugee communities with my own eyes, up close.

Their mission and my work is more important than ever.

Even if I didn’t have to fundraise, I'd still highlight the incredible work Beirut and Beyond does. I would still invite you into the story to teach you the history and the realities of Palestinian refugees today. I’d still tell of my experiences and the impact of it in my own life so that you understood why I keep showing up. Why this matters to me. What it costs to do the work and even then why it’s still worth it.

Even if I didn't need the support, I'd still ask for this. Why? Because this is community building. This is mutual aid. This is sharing my art. This is narrative shifting. This is the work that should be done communally. This is living resistance. And this is the world I want to live in – one where we combine our collective resources to make change for good.

As an artist and as someone who cares deeply about Palestinian refugees, I am truly honored to leverage my creativity, skills, and privilege to continue the work of shifting narratives about Palestinians and tangibly supporting them as they face their 75th year of exile.

Please join me as I continue to champion and affirm the dignity of Palestinian refugees with Beirut and Beyond.

Here's how you can support my work:

I need to raise $5,000 to make this trip a reality in two months from now. Here are six ways you can support my trip and be a part of this conversation. All donations after processing or art production fees will go toward my travel expenses.

Thanks for supporting me and Palestinian refugees.

Donate $50+ through a cash app or the Beirut and Beyond website, and I’ll send you 4x6" prints of these photos from my Middle East travels as a thank you!

1. Donate through a cash app:

Any amount helps. There are no fees if you send to me as “Friends and family”, and these cash donations come straight to me and can be put to use immediately!

Shelby's Venmo

Shelby's PayPal

2. Make a tax-deductible donation through Beirut and Beyond:

This is where you can donate if you need it to be tax-deductible. Please put my name in the notes section so they know where it goes.

Donate through Beirut and Beyond

3. Buy my photography (prices vary by size):

Shop ShelbyMathisStudios on Etsy and make a purchase to support my trip. My shop is open now through May 12! In my shop you’ll find lots of photos I’ve taken on my travels across the Middle East in Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey. There’s also creative photography work from my Crushing Walls table-top miniature series!

Shop ShelbyMathisStudios

4. Buy my book ($500+):

A creative mashup of my photography and poetry, this small book will take you on a journey with me through the Middle East. It includes four original poems and dozens of full-page color photographs (some never before released images and writing!) on 50 color pages in a 6x6 inch quality soft cover book.

Thank you for considering making this large investment in the future of Palestinian refugees and my work in the camps this summer. This is a very limited run, so contact me ASAP directly if you want one!

5. Save the date:

Sunday, April 30th
1:00pm MDT / 3:00pm EDT
on Zoom (link provided upon registration)

Join me on Zoom to have a conversation about Palestinian refugees. Beirut and Beyond’s executive director, Suzann Mollner, will present on the history and realities of 75+ years of refugee status. I will share my experience in the Middle East and my artwork. We will talk about our upcoming trip to Lebanon and Jordan, the importance of my work with Beirut and Beyond, and how you can become involved!