Photo essay: the Wellington barbershop run by Syrian refugees
A day in the life of the Cultural Cuts barbershop in Newtown, Wellington. All photos by Kent Blechynden.
Syrian brothers Raed and Mohummed work at the Cultural Cuts barbershop in Wellington. They came to New Zealand from Syria as refugees three years ago with other members of their family; three of their sisters are still living there. Raed and Mohummed offer traditional cuts, buzz cuts, beard trimming, facial waxing and even nostril waxing. On the Saturday these photos were taken they started working at 9am and finished at 6pm.
This section is made possible by Simplicity, the online nonprofit Kiwisaver plan that only charges members what it costs, nothing more. Simplicity is New Zealand’s fastest growing KiwiSaver scheme, saving its 10,500 plus investors more than $3.5 million annually. Simplicity donates 15% of management revenue to charity and has no investments in tobacco, nuclear weapons or landmines. It takes two minutes to join.
Kent Blechynden
Kent Blechynden started his career at the Waikato Times and has since worked at the Guardian (UK) and the Dominion Post. An eight-time Fairfax NZ photographer of the year, he left in 2015 to go freelance at www.kentblechyndenphotography.co.nz
