Internationally acclaimed photographer Patrick Brown's solo photography exhibition titled, EXODUS, began at La Galerie, Alliance Frani^ise de Dhaka (AFD) on December 10. UNICEF Bangladesh and AFD are jointly organising the exhibition.

UNICEF Bangladesh Goodwill Ambassador and cricket icon, Shakib Al Hasan, UNICEF Bangladesh representative, Edouard Beigbeder and French Ambassador to Bangladesh, Marie-Annick Bourdin jointly inaugurated the exhibition.

Edouard Beigbeder said, "This exhibition not only portrays the hopelessness and despair of a people in peril, but it also captures their unmatched ability to bounce back in life with little support to ensure fulfillment of their basic needs."

Shakib Al Hasan added, "We should come forward to solve the problem soon."

The exhibition has a collection of photographs snapped by Patrick Brown during the last one year, portraying the initial influx, the resilience of the Rohingyas, the host community, emergency mitigation measures and international support to the Rohingya people.

More than a year ago, a startled international community watched a dramatic humanitarian crisis unfold on the northeastern edge of the Bay of Bengal. In a matter of weeks, hundreds of thousands of desperate and terrorised people — 60 percent of whom were children — poured across the border from Myanmar into Bangladesh, bringing with them accounts of the unspeakable violence and brutality that had forced them to flee. UNICEF has been on the ground in southern Bangladesh since the onset of the crisis as part of a coalition of national and international agencies.

Patrick Brown is the recipient of numerous international awards including the 3P Photographer Award, World Press Photo Award, Picture of The Year Award and New York Photographic Book Award, to name a few. His works have graced the pages of prestigious publications such as The New Yorker, TIME, Newsweek, Vanity Fair, National Geographic and International Herald TJibune.

The exhibition, open from Mondays to Thursdays from 3pm to 9pm, and on Fridays and Saturdays from 9am to 12 noon and 5pm to 8pm, will conclude on December 22.