Tanya Habjouqa

In the world of photojournalism, the Middle East is never far from our eyes. Based in East Jerusalem, Tanya Habjouqa captures images that defy the cliché and stereotype. Keith Wilson gains an insight into her unique way of storytelling…

For Tanya Habjouqa, travel has never been easy – even before COVID-19. For the past year, she’s been grounded like the rest of us, but it is her family heritage, upbringing and nationality that makes her the subject of added scrutiny, especially when crossing international borders. Her predicament is likely best explained by sharing her own words to the questions I put to her when trying to check the salient facts that are integral to her sense of identity. “Tanya, help me get this right: you’re Jordanian and went to university in Texas, as well as in London?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“And you live in East Jerusalem with your husband who is Palestinian?”

Tanya nods.

“And, like your husband, you’re a citizen of Israel?”

Tanya shakes her head. “That is the closest to correct that I’ve ever heard! No, I’m not a citizen of Israel, I’m there on a residency. I’m a dual national, Jordanian-born. I’m from a minority group in Jordan called the Circassians, so my father is from Jordan and my mother is Texan. They divorced when I was young, so I would go back and forth. I have both of those passports (Jordanian and American), and the majority of my schooling was in Texas, including university. So even though I have residency here (Israel) and I have the privilege of having a husband who is a Palestinian citizen of Israel, my American passport, saying born in Jordan with Arab heritage, definitely makes mobility difficult.”

It’s complicated. However, this is what helps make Tanya Habjouqa’s images so striking, and her photo stories unique and compelling…