We Keep Waiting
Refugee and Migrant Crisis in Europe
In 2016, more than 360,000 migrants and refugees crossed the Mediterranean and arrived in Europe. All of them have been forced to leave their countries of origin due to wars, persecutions, violence, poverty or lack of opportunities. In 2017, 163,000 migrants and asylum seekers still arrived by sea.
Lives that breathe and feel. With different points of view, opinions, dreams, ages, they deal with this situation in very different ways. "We keep Waiting" aims to put a personal face in this crisis, showing the situations that they have lived from the beginning of their trips to the end.
Melilla’s fence, which separates Europe and Africa, spans for 12 km all around the Spanish enclave. Inside, three 6-meter high fences and several metal systems block the passage of the hundreds of sub-Saharan migrants try to reach Europe every year. Only in 2016, 295 people died trying to reach the south of Spain. March 2016, Spanish enclave of Melilla, Spain.
Melilla’s fence, which separates Europe and Africa, spans for 12 km all around the Spanish enclave. Inside, three 6-meter high fences and several metal systems block the passage of the hundreds of sub-Saharan migrants try to reach Europe every year. Only in 2016, 295 people died trying to reach the south of Spain. March 2016, Spanish enclave of Melilla, Spain.
Bolingo is an illegal camp in the north of Morocco, where 400 sub-Saharan migrants live while they wait for their opportunity to reach Spain. This settlement is 20km away from Melilla, a Spanish enclave on the North African coast. Some of them try to reach Europe going by rubber boats to Spain or tucked into the bumpers of the vehicles and taken across the border into Melilla. For some, all they have is a life jacket that they will use on their journey by boat to Spain. Those who don’t have money to pay the traffickers, have to try their luck jumping the infamous fence. August, 2016, Nador province, Morocco.
Melilla’s fence, which separates Europe and Africa, spans for 12 km all around the Spanish enclave. Inside, three 6-meter high fences and several metal systems block the passage of the hundreds of sub-Saharan migrants try to reach Europe every year. Only in 2016, 295 people died trying to reach the south of Spain. August 2016, Spanish enclave of Melilla.
These are the simple instruments used by migrants to climb the 6 meter tall fences. All those who are caught by a Spanish military police return to Morocco, injured and unregistered. This practice, that has existed for a number of years was made legal in March 2015. It has consistently been denounced as an inhumane practice by several International NGO. August 2016, Spanish enclave of Melilla.
Aeisha, a 23-year-old woman from Syria, checks her phone in the military camp of Nea Kavala, Grece. She and her family have been living here for 6 months. The family left Syria 8 months ago hoping to reach Germany as soon as possible and start a new life. Now, they don't know when they'll be able to leave the camp. Here 2,000 refugees have been trapped while waiting for their asylum applications to be approved. "When are we going to be able to continue with our journey?" Asks her. Some migrants and refugees are even considering the possibility to come back to their countries of origin, since they have been months waiting in a very precarious conditions. July, 2016, Tesaloniki, Grece.
Calais Jungle was a refugee and migrant encampment in the vicinity of Calais, France. Many who lived in this camp attempted to illegally enter to UK via the Port of Calais or the Eurotunnel by stowing away on lorries, ferries, cars, or trains travelling to the UK. On 26 October 2016, French authorities announced that the camp had been cleared. The picture was taken in July 2016.
Moussa, from Afghanistan, looks through the window of the caravan where he lives in Le Jungle, Calais, France. After fleeing his country for being persecuted by the Taliban, Moussa has made a living in Le Jungle. "What else do I need? Here I have everything." Le Jungle, located in the town of Calais, on the north of France, is an illegal refugee and migrant camp where lived almost 10,000 people. Here men and women tried to sneak into the Euro-tunnel every day and reach the United Kingdom. Some of them had already built a life here and there were several shops and businesses. This settlement was evicted in 2016 by orders of the mayor of the city. July, 2016.
Moria is an immigration detention camp in Lesbos, a Greek island. Formerly an open space closed its doors after the EU-Turkey agreement. Today, houses 3,000 people who do not know when they will be able to get out of the Center. July, 2016.
In April 2016 a group of Athenian citizens and activists seized the Hotel Plaza as a response for the humanitarian crisis of the refugees and migrants that was hitting Greece. Since then, this self-managed space has been a home for 400 refugees. Fatima Afrin prays in her room, her husband is in Syria helping the Kurdish army and her children are scattered around the world. After a long struggle for her Asylum papers and with the desire to see all her children again, Fatima passed away in Greece in May 2017. July, 2016, Athens, Grece.
Salah Afrin, Fatima Afrin's son, attends one of the daily classes that are run by the hotel volunteers . He could not speak English before he came to the hotel. July, 2016, Athens, Grece.
German flag in Nadym Maher's home. Maher is a Syran refugee who is now sharing a home with a German family. July, 2016, Berlin, Germany.
Nadym Maher, a 25-year-old Syrian refugee, enjoys a relaxing time swimming on a lake in Berlin, Germany. Nadym swam two kilometers of Aegean Sea to seek refuge, from Turkey to the Greek island of Kastellorizo. That was the safest way that he found to reach Europe. July, 2016, Berlin, Germany.
Most of the asylum seekers like Nadym live in Tempelhof before the approval. This is Germany’s biggest refugee camp. This airport built in Berlin in 1923 by the Nazis, houses around 13,000 migrants waiting for permanent accommodation. July, 2016.
Tempelhof is Germany’s biggest refugee camp. This airport built in Berlin in 1923 by the Nazis, houses around 13,000 migrants waiting for permanent accommodation. July, 2016.
A group of people protests with the motto "Stop Deportation" and "Fight Fortress / Europe" in Berlin, Germany. Migrants from African countries assure that they do not receive the same treatment as people of other nationalities as Syria. "We are sent to camps outside the city and we do not have the same assistance", says one of them. July, 2016.
A rally against the new working law, in Paris, France. July, 2016.
A deployment of french police block the pass of hundreds of protesters on a rally against the new working law, in Paris, France, where some migrants are attending. July, 2016.
A group of people protests with the motto "Stop Deportation" and "Fight Fortress / Europe" in Berlin, Germany. Migrants from African countries assure that they do not receive the same treatment as people of other nationalities as Syria. "We are sent to camps outside the city and we do not have the same assistance", says one of them. July, 2016, Berlin, Germany.
Cheik, a 29-years-old man from Senegal, left his hometown with his carpenter's diploma under his arm looking for the "European Dream". When he stepped on Tarifa three years ago, he couldn't imagine that it was going to be this hard. The young African man spends his days looking for something saleable on the trashes of Barcelona meanwhile at night sleeps on an occupied house. December, 2016. Barcelona, Spain.
Cheik, a 29-year-old Senegalese man, visits an informal settlement where some of his friends live in the San Martín neighborhood of Barcelona, Spain. Cheik left his hometown with his carpenter's diploma under his arm looking for the "European Dream". When he stepped on Tarifa three years ago, he couldn't imagine that it was going to be this hard. The young African man spends his days looking for something saleable on the trashes of Barcelona meanwhile at night sleeps on an occupied house. December, 2016.
Cheik, a 29-year-old Senegalese man, looking for something saleable on the streets of Barcelona. December, 2016.
Cheick in his room near Badalona. December, 2016, Barcelona, Spain.
Rana Bousaad, a 32-years-old Syrian refugee, speaks with her family who still lives in Syria, in her new home in Sant Cugat, Barcelona, Spain. She and her family have been living here for the past year. "We have had no help at all...until now we had been living with another family in a tiny house." For most of the refugees and migrants, one of the most challenging moments yet is integrating when they arrive in a different country. They have to deal with the psychological effects of having faced persecution, violence and war, whilst adapting to a new culture. January, 2016.
Rana Bousaad, a 32-year-old Syrian refugee, cleans up her kitchen in her house in Sant Cugat, Barcelona. January, 2016.
Rana Bousaad and her son Danial Bousaad in their home in Sabadell. January, 2016.