Join photographer and British Army veteran Andy Barnham, researcher Sara de Jong, and two Afghan interpreters to learn more about the project We Are Here, Because You Were There. Discover how photography became a tool for activism, enabling the experiences and stories of Afghan interpreters to be told.

We Are Here, Because You Were There: Afghan Interpreters in the UK is a collaborative project by Andy Barnham and Sara de Jong, which documents the experiences of Afghan interpreters who were employed by the British Army in Afghanistan between 2004 and 2021, and resettled to the UK in 2021. This exhibition tells the interpreters’ experiences of employment and resettlement through portraiture and quotes, and photographs from Afghanistan.

It also includes five portraits and quotes of leading veteran activists who, through a sense of moral duty to the interpreters they worked alongside, have become political advocates for the protection and rights of their former colleagues.

A selection of photographs by Andy, when he was on duty in Afghanistan, offer a diaristic insider perspective on military operations deployed by NATO. This completes the title We Are Here, Because You Were There, indicating the reason why the Afghan refugees are here in the first place.