Come face to face with survivors of the tsunami at an exhibition of photographs taken by people the British Red Cross has helped in the three years since the disaster.

Tsunami: face to face photographic exhibition opens at the.gallery@oxo on the South Bank in London from 6 December 2007 to 6 January 2008.

Shahid Malik MP, minister for humanitarian affairs, opened the exhibition, stating: “These are some really remarkable and powerful images. You can’t help but be moved. They give us a real sense of the courage, determination and resilience of the people caught up in the tsunami. These people are continuing with life despite tragedy. The pictures are a reminder of the responsibility we have to people overseas.

He continued: “I pay tribute to the Red Cross for the enormous response they delivered and for the thousands of families they supported in the aftermath of the tsunami. In my humble view, it’s the world’s first emergency response network.”

Tsunami photo exhibition

Around 230,000 people were killed and hundreds of thousands injured or made homeless when a massive tsunami struck off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia on 26 December 2004.

Ms Robinson said: “Taking part in this project and speaking to people about their photographs was incredibly moving.

“One picture that really stands out was by a man in Indonesia called Bakhtiar. At first it looks like an amusing picture of a toddler in a nappy with sunglasses on, but when the individual explained his picture to me a heart-wrenching story was behind it.”

	Taking part in this project and speaking to people about their photographs was incredibly moving. Ruth Robinson, photographer

One of the participants, 34-year-old, Soufan from Addalachchenai, Sri Lanka, explained: “I have taken these pictures to touch your minds and hearts and I hope the people who come to see these pictures at the exhibition will be inspired by our communities and our lives.”

Matthias Schmale, British Red Cross international director, said: “It is important that we tell the public how their donations have made a difference to people’s lives – and what better way than to enable those who were caught up in this tsunami to tell their own stories of their recovery?”

You can see a selection of the exhibition photos on Facebook, Bebo and MySpace.

The British Red Cross would like to thank all those organisations and individuals who have offered generous support, without whom this event would not have been possible. They include Coin Street Community Builders, Ruth Robinson, Swansea Institute Art & Design Faculty, Eric Armstrong of Murain Frames, Passion Organic and Nick Wilcock of Jessops, Swansea.

Free admission

Open from 11am to 6pm (except 26 and 31 Dec, 11am-4pm)