The exhibition Borders and Beyond, going on at Drik Gallery, depicts these political, historical and social aspects of borders. Ten photographers from Denmark, England, Mexico, Palestine, Russia, South Africa and Switzerland direct their gaze at some borders that signify the end for some and the beginning for others.

Among the ten photo-essays, one aspect is clearly noticeable: most of the tensions that are the subjects of this project are the incidents between 1995 and 2000. Only one photo-story looks far back in 1964, the subject of which is the civil war in Cyprus.

The rise of tension between the Turkish and Greek populations, after Cyprus had gained independence from England in 1960, gave way to severe riots in the island. Both Turkey and Greece provided supports to the disputing factions of people--the minority Turkish and the ruling Greek. English photographer Don McCullin shot the photos in the 1964 summer as a stationed British soldier in the island.

Valeri Nistratov of Russia captures the political-turned-military conflict in Transdniestra, the borderline between the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. The root of the conflict lies in the adoption of the Moldovan as the national language while other languages like the Russian and Ukrainian were neglected. The situation further worsened as the local parliament of Transdniestra proclaimed a new state. Hundreds of casualties have taken place since then.

Swiss photographer Thomas Kern's subject is the growing Chinese community in San Francisco. Generations of Chinese immigrants have settled in the place and constituted a large workforce in the region's economy. But an 1882 law passed by Congress forbids American vessels to transport Chinese immigrants to the United States. Kern's photos track down the community events of Chinatown, the Clement Street and other adjacent places.

Randa Shaath of Palestine captures the discriminating treatment of the Palestinians by the Israelis. All Palestinian workers except the VIPs have to walk through the 2-kilometre long tunnel of the Erez checkpoint to leave Gaza. The 40,000 people from Gaza who work in Israel are checked and searched daily. The return time for these workers is 7 pm, the violation of which results in detention of three to six months in prison.

Meinrad Schade and Roger Wehrli of Switzerland take photos of Switzerland and Gibraltar. The underground accommodations for Swiss Army troops are now being used as an emergency refugee shelter. The names of the refuses are pinned up on a pallet outside the entrance. On the other hand, Gibralter is shown as the 'threshold of Fortress Europe' through which a lot of people have tried to enter the European world.

Julián Cardona of Mexico shows pictures of Mexicans, in their groups of twenties, in attempt of crossing the border to enter the US soil. Smugglers help them guide through the borders.

Jodi Bieber's photos depict the illegal immigrants from Mozambique and their repatriation. The South African officials involved in this project were accused of heavy corruption.

Another Swiss photographer Manuel Bauer's photo-essay Tibet: Escape into Exile 1995 depicts the obliteration of the Tibetans from the traces of their spiritual past by the Chinese government. Pictures show the Lhasa pilgrims undertaking voyages under the eyes of some of the 60000 Chinese soldiers.

Danish photographer Joachim Ladefoged takes pictures of the Kosovo-Albanian border where thousands of refugees take shelter. A photograph shows a refugee being helped by her family members to walk the last 200 metres to the school at the border point of Qafa e Prushit. The distress of the refugees can be understood in the fact that the border can only be reached on foot.

The exhibition has already taken place in Mexico, Egypt, Poland, South Korea, Mozambique, South Africa and Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi in India. After visiting Bangladesh, the display is also set for Spain and Slovakia.

The exhibition can be visited between 3pm and 8pm till June 21.