3 year-old Sahman Alchoush, from Halhul in Hebron, was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma at the age of two. While looking for intimate stories to share, I was privileged to meet the "The Road to Recovery", a non-profit Israeli organization that helps transport Palestinian patients, especially children, from the checkpoints to the hospitals in Israel. The organization assisted me accompanying and documenting Sahman at the last weeks of his life. He was the eldest son of Jaffar & Tasneem and brother to little Bissan. Touching his parent's eyelids, reassured him during the difficult moments of pain.
3 year-old Sahman Alchoush, from Halhul in Hebron, was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma at the age of two. While looking for intimate stories to share, I was privileged to meet the "The Road to Recovery", a non-profit Israeli organization that helps transport Palestinian patients, especially children, from the checkpoints to the hospitals in Israel.
"The Road to Recovery" assisted me accompanying and documenting Sahman at the last weeks of his life, during which Sahman stayed at Hospice in "Tel Hashomer" Hospital. And then to visit and document them at their home in Hebron, during their days of grief.
Sahman passed on July 11th 2019, he was the eldest son of Jaffar and Tasneem and big brother to little Bissan. Touching his parent's eyelids reassured him greatly during the difficult moments of pain.
The Family's Documentation won the open call "Transformation" of The 8th International Photography Festival "PHOTO IS:RAEL", and was shown at the main exhibition during November 2020. Thanks to the festival I got to meet Sahman's parents once again, when they received a one-time permit to enter Israel and see their son's documentation in the exhibition, in the center of Tel Aviv. At this special day Jaffar had a chance to visit the sea for the second time in his life, and Tasneem was excited from the little stones that can decorate her flower pots in her garden.
As we sadly had to depart again I took one last picture of them. In my view this is a closure to the first picture, in Tarkumia checkpoint, where Sahman left his home for the last time carried by his father.
Sahman's parents and I are friends till this day. Jaffar once said, that I had long since become a family member, and thanks to our acquaintance they had the privilege of preserving memories, sharing the pain of their son's illness and softening the difficulty of being alone in Israel, in such painful moments.
Very recently another beautiful son was born to them, Isaac, and I'm very happy for them.