Archive

@luigi_storto, Naleena

Naalena is an Indian transgender and according to the culture of her country she belongs to the so-called “third sex,” neither man nor woman.

@taleofmen, Sil from Brussels

When I was 24 I met a guy through Tinder. After two month of talking online, I asked him out on a first date. Both being pretty shy, a concert was ideal for us. Although it was a normal first date, I knew I wanted to see him again. At the time, I never had had a boyfriend, so I was eager to get to know him better and I made sure a second date would come. Then the attacks on Brussels Airport and the metro happened, which threw us off and postponed our date.

@m4rcuzzu, Milan Pride Parade, Italy, 2018

An old woman decided to celebrate the Pride day by distributing water bottles and rainbow flags to the people from a full colored track, Milan, Italy, 2018.

@karolinasobel, If U are Ok, I am Ok, sisterhood

@karolinasobel, If U are Ok, I am Ok, sisterhood

@francesca_photo_ , Marvy and Sagaya

They are Marvy and Sagaya. Before this time, they had never spent time together and it was wonderful, and even funny, to give life to this project, to see their embarrassment gradually dissolving and to be there, posing awkwardly and hilariously, next to each other. I enjoyed the show through the camera and then I thought: I believe this is the greatest and most natural display of an “Encounter”. At some point I witnessed their empathy, even though at the beginning they felt uncomfortable and not much uninhibited. This, in spite of the fact they were strangers to each other. It was moving. Thanks to both.

@miloivay, Camila and Ivanova

My name is Camila, called “Milo”, my girlfriend’s name is Ivanova. We have been together for 4 years, our relationship is nurtured by the love, by the strenght and at the same time by the irrationality.

@marlin.dedaj_studio, MonteStella

This photograph is part of my project “MonteStella” for the #MilanPhotoWeek \ Magnum Photos Scholarship edited by Alex Majoli

@miloivay, Camila and Ivanova

My name is Camila, called “Milo”, my girlfriend’s name is Ivanova. We have been together for 4 years, our relationship is nurtured by the love, by the strength and at the same time by the irrationality.

@taleofmen, Florian a.k.a. La Veuve from Brussels

During the search and preparation for the opening of Cabaret Mademoiselle, the idea of doing drag came alive in my mind again. This time, I would perform in a new place, not at Chez Maman, a place where you could be who you are, where you could create your own style and character, where you don’t have to be a beauty queen. The realization opens the door, liberating and empowering. It was a huge step for me. All the frustration I accumulated got lifted then disappeared. With the skills and experiences I had acquired throughout the years, I felt more confident and ready. So I started to practice as a drag queen, learning to perfect makeup skills, making costumes for me, attending Gay Pride in Brussels, Antwerp, Namur in drag. Most importantly I started to have fun in drag. It’s like the first time I did drag in this punky environment, clumsy, crude, but original and fun. It’s like after all these years, the circle was complete.

@luigi_storto, Naleena

Naalena is an Indian transgender and according to the culture of her country she belongs to the so-called “third sex,” neither man nor woman.

@miloivay, Camila and Ivanova

My name is Camila, called “Milo”, my girlfriend’s name is Ivanova. We have been together for 4 years, our relationship is nurtured by the love, by the strength and at the same time by the irrationality.

@taleofmen, Samy from France in Brussels

Alexis and I were very good friends from the start. I was there when he got infected with HIV. Some guy told him that he’s negative. Alexis believed him. So simple it was. Many people get inflected because their sex partners are unaware of their status. That’s why it’s so important to get tested. It is also important to know that it doesn’t take much to get infected. It has nothing to do with being a slut as many people might perceive. Alexis started having treatment. Since we were very close, I knew he was taking his medications everyday. When our relationship developed further we started to have sex. My HIV status was and still negative. I was not afraid at all of sleeping with him, even without condom, because I knew with his treatment the virus load was undetectable. It means he couldn’t infect me

@miloivay, Camila and Ivanova

My name is Camila, called “Milo”, my girlfriend’s name is Ivanova. We have been together for 4 years, our relationship is nurtured by the love, by the strength and at the same time by the irrationality.

@m4rcuzzu, Milan, Italy, 2018

Young guys demonstrate in pursuit of the right to be himself. The right to be different from everybody else and, at the same time, equal before the law.

Carloman Macidiano Céspedes Riojas, Algo casual
Argentina, 2016

“Cuando le conté a mi madre que era gay, ella dejo de lado sus creencias religiosas, me abrazo y dijo que iba rezar por mi para que sea feliz. que las relaciones de amor son todas iguales, algunos dias lindos y otros difíciles”

Iryna Viyuk, A boy
Gdańsk, 2013

A boy.

Francesco Mollo, Dignity (after all)
San Ferdinando migrant camp called “Tendopoli” (Reggio Calabria, Italy), 2018

An elegant young migrant comes back home by bike. But his home was burned in a fatal fire who killed a youn woman and destroyed half of the tent camp in San Ferdinando (near Reggio Calabria, in Southern Italy) called “Tendopoli” where migrant workers live in inhumane conditions.

Katumba Badru Sultan, From Ghetto to Parliament
Kyadondo, Uganda, July 11, 2017

Robert Kyagulanyi Sentamu a.k.a “Bobi Wine” standing on a boda boda with his supporters following with him heading to Kyadondo community ground to celebrate his landslide victory in Uganda Politics were for the first time a ghetto youth was allowed to take part in parliament elections winning widely opening doors for other ghetto youth to also stand rise and shine in whatever they do.

Taha Ahmad, Tears of Frustration
New Delhi, India, 2017

An Indian Farmer protesting against the Indian Government, carrying real skulls of the ones who committed suicide. The farmers battled the disastrous drought that took place in Tamil Nadu, India in 2017, breaking the record of 140 years. Led by Mr. Ayyakannu, these poor farmers marched from Tamil Nadu to the Indian Capital Delhi fighting against the corruption, crippling debts and a worrying spike in farmers’ suicides. The protesters, who said their fight is to “prevent suicide by farmers who feed the nation demanded Reasonable drought relief package for drought-hit Tamil Nadu, Writing off loans borrowed by farmers, Preventing Tamil Nadu Cauvery from turning dry, Illegal snatching of land and Profitable price for agricultural products from the Government. Despite the government’s unfulfilled promises and suppression of farmers, they continued to protest eventually achieving their goal on 22nd April 2017.

Jewel Chakma, Look true the lens
Bandarban, 2018

Indigenous child grow up with the nature

Krishnasis Ghosh, Moulding Worker
Kolkata, India, 2016

Molder Ravi Chandra earns 120 rupees a day, not enough to properly support his family, yet he continues to sweat for their future.

Saman Quraishi, Meeting in an old cafe,

Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, 2017

Picture was taken in Irani cafe in the old city of Ahmedabad, India. It portrays the joy on the faces of the workers after long working hours. The cafe offers a quaint place within the chaos amidst the core of the older city and allows people from every section of the society to have their famous tea and Maskabun (Bread and Butter) alongside each other. A city with the maligned history of communal riots (1985, 1969, 2002) such places are forerunners in bearing the flag of unity in diversity and reconciliation of hope amongst people of different cast and creed.

Adam Jacobi Moller, Remnants of a war
Quang Tri, Vietnam, 2015

The fisherman lost his hand collecting scrap metal in Vietnam. A bomb maimed it and other parts of his body. He could no longer collect scrap metal or fish and had to rely on his family instead of them on him. He is part of a group of mainly men damaged by explosive remnants from the war with the US. Around 7.8 million tons of munitions was dropped over Vietnam during that war. An estimated 800,000 tons failed to detonate, contaminating around 20 percent of the land. More than 100,000 people have been killed or injured since 1975.

Gaurang Bhatt, India – Stuck nowhere
Delhi, 2012

This Image was captured just after the Nirbhaya Rape case which happened in winters of 2012 in Delhi,India. This horrific crime lead Indian youth to come out of their closets and take actions, demand answers and seek justice. This image shows the turn of events that day, how a peaceful protest/march towards parliament turned into an arena with police forces throwing lathis and smoke bombs at students and using water cannons to disperse the crowd.

Partha Banik, Homeless
Naf River, Cox bazar, Bangladesh, 2018

This picture was taken on 2018 March. I visited Cox bazar, a Rohingya refugee camp. That I saw a full boated people come from Myanmer. They are helpless and homeless by their government. To save life they fled from there. This photo depicts how miserable life they are leading to unknown fortune.

Flavia Arato, Girl with visual impairment during Eye Health outreach
Dano, Burkina Faso, 2017

65 million children in low income countries are out of school, and half of them have a disability. In Burkina Faso, blindness and visual impairments concern the 25% of the total population. Girls with disabilities face the most severe educational inequities as they are confronted with stigma and constrained by traditional gender roles. Investing in inclusive education is one of the most effective ways to break the cycle of discrimination and poverty. It brings better social, academic, health and economic outcomes and improves the quality of life for all learners.

Guillermo España, La clase
La Plata, Argentina, 2015

This photo belongs to a project called “Senegal en Argentina”. Together with two friends we decided helping these people somehow and we decided start giving spanish lessons for them. At the begeinning by ourselves and later on our school, Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales, got involved and helped us shaping up the project. I got to spend six years working with senegalese migrants and sharing not only spanish lessons but getting to know their houses, their culture, religion and their personal stories. “La clase” was taken during one the many lessons we had during this years.

Krishnasis Ghosh, Festive Preparation
HOWRAH, 2015

Among the many folk festivals of Bengal, Gajan festival has a special place even in today’s modern age. Although it is celebrated predominantly in rural Bengal, the festival is till celebrated in some pockets of the Metro city of Kolkata. Hindus celebrate the festival mainly on the last two days of the month of Chaitra.This period is known as Chaitra Sankranti, when Sun will enter Pisces sign. Chaitra Sankranti begins on 14th March of every year. People observe fast during this period devoting themselves to their God. Discussing in details about this festival can take a long space, so I will try to be compact and brief as possible.

Artem Markin, Ritual
Russia Kalmykia, 2017

Annually, the Buddhists of the region gather in a sacred place by a lonely poplar in the steppe and conduct a ritual of offering the buddha. Russia Kalmykia.

Maja Nydal Eriksen, Shakira
Bucharest, 2015

Shakira This picture is part of my ongoing project Possible Playgrounds, where I experience Bucharest through the eyes of the young generation. The project visualizes their needs, fears, memories and dreams in relation to their immediate surroundings, in a city where their voice is almost completely missing. At the same time, the participants are taught the basics of photography, and continue to portray their stories. The title comments on the lack of playgrounds and urban life in many areas of the city, where the young residents are pushing for places to meet and play. Using photography for mapping, and intervening in the cityscape, the project creates images of protest and engagement. The girl in the picture has named herself Shakira and is one of the estimated 150,000 unregistered Roma in the city. She lives in Giulesti Sarbi, a poor suburb, and has no legal rights, no social security number, and cannot go to school. The old train station where the picture is shot, is one of her many alternative and somewhat dangerous playgrounds. Few months after the picture was shot, Shakira moved to Western Europe with her family. The project is hosted by The Museum of Roma Culture, Bu, and ARCUB, The City Institute for Culture and Arts, BU.

Diego Lantero, Mothers of Ayacucho
Ayacucho, Perú, 2015

In 1984, hooded men in military vehicles entered Adelina’s house in Ayacucho (Peru) and abducted her 19-year-old son. That night, he entered the list of 15.000 desaparecidos left behind by the armed conflict between the Peruvian State and the Maoist group Sendero Luminoso (1980-2000). More than 20 years later, Adelina is the president of ANFASEP (Agrupación Nacional de Familiares de Secuestrados, Detenidos y Desaparecidos del Perú), an organisation comprised of Quechua women searching for their disappeared relatives. In La Hoyada, a waste ground in the backyard of Los Cabitos’ military headquarters, human remains of more than a hundred people have been identified in the last two years. Every Sunday, the “Ayacucho’s mothers” of ANFASEP gather at this desolate sanctuary to remember their loved ones

Vladimír Cicmanec, Scout girl confronting Neo-Nazi
Brno, Czech Republic, 2017

Nazism, fascism and their crimes must never be forgotten. Any display of sympathy or admiration towards these brutal ideologies can’t be met with silence or acceptance, but with proud, fearless and vocal opposition. Never forget, never stop being vigilant and standing up for what is right. Be like Lucie.

Marlin Dedaj, The spirit of Srebrenica
Srebrenica-Potocari, Bosnia Herzegovina, 2016

“The Srebrenica genocide is the worst human tragedy that has been consumed in Europe since the end of World War II. More than twenty years after that tragedy, we have the duty to keep our memory and question our consciences so that similar events are repeated. Only if there is justice will it be possible to soothe the enormous suffering of all those who have lost their loved ones. Only in the name of justice will it be possible to complete a path of genuine reconciliation between different ethnicities and religions. Moving in the most tragic moments of its history, Bosnia and Herzegovina is called today to look forward to its future. The whole of Europe must take on this historical responsibility today in the name of all the victims of those wars and the Balkan peoples.”

Emanuele Amighetti, Unrecognized nation, forgotten war
Italy, 2017

One year after the April War an ordinary life is going on among villages and streets of the Nagorno-Karabakh unrecognized nation. All the aspiring republic’s inhabitants clearly remember the destructive violence of the decades-old conflict. They believe in a better future to live for the next generations. The conflict started in 1988 and escalated into full-scale war when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Armenians went to war with Azerbaijan, with backing from Armenia. The conflict left 65,000 ethnic Armenians and 40,000 ethnic Azeris displaced. Clashes between the Azerbaijani and ethnic Armenian forces over the breakaway enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh last year were the worst violence the region has seen since the ethnic war over the territory ended in 1994. In Stepanakert, the capital, a military academy substituted the traditional high-school. Male and female teenagers aged 13-18 are learning maths, history and english after physical exercises and marches. Unemployment is high, salaries are low, opportunities are few; the young continue to leave in search of better futures abroad. When Artsakh men reach 18 years-old they are whisked away for two years of military national service. That’s what it means living in a region stalked by conflict: security measures trump most other considerations. Here, young police cadets observe the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. Hundreds of people walk to the Genocide Memorial to lay flowers at the eternal flame. The Armenian identity along with the genocide memory is extremely rooted among Nagorno-Karabakh’s young generations.

Tafadzwa Ufumelii, Freedom of Assembly?
Harare, Zimbabwe, 2016

On the steps of the Magistrate’s Court in Harare, Zimbabwe, anti-riot police officers beat an elderly woman who is protesting for electoral reforms. On August 26th, 2016, peaceful protestors against President Robert Mugabe’s government received sanction from the Zimbabwean High Court to proceed with a march through the streets to deliver a petition to the offices of the electoral commission. Despite this court approval and Zimbabwe’s new constitution approved in 2013, which commits the government to ensure the right to freedom of assembly, police moved swiftly to disperse protestors using tear gas, water cannons and batons. President Mugabe has held power since Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980 and, in recent months, there have been increasing protests against alleged human rights abuses, corruption, and a weakening economy.

Samuel Nacar, The nomads of Europe
Calais, France, 2016

Refugees getting evicted from the refugee camp of the Jungle in Calais, France. 26th of October 2016

Filippo Andreetta, Hearing the noise, feeling the pain
Jewish Museum Berlin, 2016

Listen to the noise, to our feelings, understand to improve. The girl, walking on the iron faces of the million victims of the Holocaust, partly relives the pain of those people, while leaving behind the suffering. She is walking towards a better future and transforming a thunder of agony into a sweet symphony.

Leo Dong, No Such Thing As Frozen In Time
Pripyat, Ukraine, 2016

Although this amusement park was abandoned by people who intended to return shortly afterwards, nature and time did not heed their intentions. The way that the elements erode this site over time only strengthens the message that the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine is situated in events of the past. Finally, there is irony in the fact that an innocent children’s playground serves as a permanent reminder of the global loss of confidence in the USSR.

Giacomo Palermo, “Mediterranean souls”
Tunisia, 2012

As in Tunisia, Morocco, Sicily and other mediterranen countries fishermen today still use traps made of ceramics to harvest polyps from the sea and sell them to feed their family. These and other cultural traditions have been preserved over the centuries and connect the various Mediterranean countries to the memory of a common history and destiny.

Gala Kreisler, La memoria se construye en el presente (Memory is built in the present)
Espacio Memoria y Derechos Humanos (Ex ESMA), Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2017

This picture was taken on 20th July (Friend’s Day in Argentina). While I was walking through this ex Clandestine detention center, now known as a space for memory and human rights, I looked for something that would represent life and joy where 40 years ago sadness, torture and death took place. I was looking for a butterfly, or a bird, when I saw this little girl. She was with her mom, looking at this wall full of portraits of people who was kidnapped, torture and disappeared during the last dictactorship that happened in Argentina between 1976/1983. And there she was, on her holidays, visiting a sad chapter of our nation`s history, instead of going to a theater or gathering with friends to celebrate its day. Too young to go by herself but old enough to understand who where those people and what happened to them, she surprised me by giving me the image I was looking for: life after death, happines after sadness, memory after oblivion. Nowadays, when many officials tend to relativize the horror of those years, dening the amount of victims, talking about Human Rights as a business, this little girl proves that it doesn’t matter: Memory belong to the people, and while there is a seven-years-old standing in front of the past, respecting and learning about it, future is asurred.

Emilia Lloret, Némosine
Ecuador, 2014

How to represent the substrate of memory, its shape and its visual mutation? Memory is a space that is constantly recreated by our experiences. A parallel, otherworldly, invisible place where we go, sometimes consciously and other times, inevitably. The photos of our past mutate whenever we bring them back to the present; they are doors that allow us to interact with our memory, this intangible place. I believe that our memory is like a network of images where our identity is held, and it contains shapes that are beyond our understanding. We live in the middle of these parallel worlds in which sometimes the evocation saves us with the same force it terrifies us. In this process, I used photos from my childhood that later were merged into a double exposure with more recent personal images to give shape to the intangible.

Jasper Wilkins, Sandstorm in Gorkha, Nepal
Nepal, 2017

Children play in a sandstorm in Gorkha, the epicentre of the 2015 earthquake. Their school was destroyed and they currently study in a temporary shelter.

Adam Jacobi Moller, The Memory Train
Gevgelija, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 2015

A memory may never fade if it is the one that forced you to flee from your family, home and country. When you sit cold and cramped together in a ramshackle boat among hundreds of others like you, crossing the dark sea that swallows bodies without mercy, the memory will never fade. A memory will never fade from your struggle to enter a train in the Balkans among thousands of others with similar memories that they and you dream to reconcile with a future in peace in a European country. Reconciliation may come albeit the path is filled with memories.

Linda Dorigo, “Amna Suraka” – Red Security war crime museum
Sulaimaniya, 2014

On March 16, 1988, Iraqi government aircraft shot chemical gas on the Kurdish city of Halabja, immediately killing 5,000, and wounding another 10,000. The attack was part of the Al-Anfal campaign, carried out by Saddam Hussein’s regime. For the Kurds, acknowledgment has an important psychological value that goes toward safeguarding the community from a repeat of similar brutality, and taking power over their fears. Thousands of dissidents and Kurdish nationalists have been imprisoned and tortured in the former headquarters of Saddam’s intelligence agency. In 1991 the same buildings have been transformed into “Amna Suraka”, the country’s first war-crimes museum.

Adriano Remiddi, ”Scars from elsewhere”
Srebrenica Genocide Memorial – Potočari , Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014

The 20th century has left an unforgivable heritage of countless scars in the collective memories all over the world. Technological progress has allowed for conflicts, atrocities and crimes to be widely documented on an unprecedented scale. The tremendous power of these images has opened a new era in the struggle of dealing with the past, substituting the necessity to evoke the abstract with the crude and direct portrayal of events. The violent dismemberment of Socialist Federal Yugoslavia (1991-1999), according to many the most documented war in history, has marked an epoch and left an indelible trace in the conception of public remembrance.

Karolina Sobel, palm tree
Bethlehem, 2016

Since 50 years people in the West Bank have lived under the Israeli occupation. Gardening, farming and agriculture have been the most important activities in the West Bank villages for ages. After 1967 due to the growth of settlements the cultivation died in many villages, and the settlers have stolen water. In Palestine most of the agriculture lies in Area C, which is entirely under Israeli control. Even in the area A, the Israeli are able to come and demolish the gardens. In many cases houses and gardens are destroyed by military vehicles. Palestinian people dream to live in a country without separation walls and checkpoints. They resist by bringing the positive change to their lifestyle, surroundings and community. One of the examples is the upcycling their gardens with tires and palettes.

Lucy Black, Marching in Paris
Paris, 2017

In society, women are often felt the need to look at other women and feel competitive. One women’s success isn’t another woman’s failure. We are privileged in the first-world society to have the means and ability to protest for women’s rights. Hopefully affecting change for women whom are constrained by other forces. This photograph was taken during the midsts of the women’s march in Paris, March 2017.

Alexandre Marcou, Comuna 13
Medellín, 2017

In 2002, the Comuna 13 in Medellin was a bloody battleground. A merciless war opposed the military forces of Colombia, and extreme right wing paramilitaries fought against left wing groups and guerrillas. Today, the resilience of the inhabitants of the Comuna and the fierce desire to forge a long-lasting peace is expressed through the city’s graffiti and street art. The colourful walls and the powerful messages have now replaced the bullets and the despair.

John Christian Dinco, After 20 years
Nepal, 2017

In 2008, Nepal was able to transform its government from a monarchy to a democracy through series of civil wars, violence and a wide array of human rights violations. On its way to full democratization—supported by the 2015 Constitution—the Himalayan country held its first local elections after 20 years, a milestone in the citizen’s right to vote. Will this become the start of the long-awaited progress for the Nepali society?

Max Bastard, A Peasants Struggle
Sigidi Village, Pondoland, Eastern
Cape Province, South Africa, 2015

“We make our living from these sweet potatoes and other crops. They say we will have to move if the mine comes. How will we make a living then? This is all we know.” Mamdingi and Mqambose Dlamini.

Peasants Struggle has its core placed firmly in the AmaPondo people’s decades old struggle to maintain custodianship over their heritage and land, and to be free to choose their own destiny. This image forms part of an ongoing larger body of work which comprises a collection of natural portraits and observations of the AmaPondo people and their environment, unchanged from their day-to-day routines, except for the wearing of gas masks as an act of protest against their exploitation and potential loss of way of life. The use of gas masks is highly symbolic. In popular iconography it has come to represent both oppression and defiance.

Ivan Kovalev, Love notes on toothbrushes
USA, 2006

“While both, me and my wife were prisoners of conscience in the 80s in the USSR, Tanya received just 2 letters in 5 years from me. Few words of love and support, scratched on toothbrushes and visible only by catching reflected light, smuggled unnoticed through countless searches by our jailers and went from one prison to another”.
During 70s and 80s Ivan Kovalev participated in human rights movement in Russia. Many dissidents were severely punished for exercising their rights and freedoms, especially freedom of speech. This way, Ivan Kovalev, his wife and his father became prisoners of conscience. In 1987, during “perestroika”, Ivan and his wife were released from internal exile before their terms and emigrated to USA.

Jenevieve Aken, The Masked Woman
Lagos, Nigeria, 2014

The Masked Woman is a self- portrait series that explores representation of gender in Nigerian society through a performative lens. It attempts to avert the overarching male gaze by facing it head on with the artist’s own actions and choices. The images portray the solitary lifestyle of the “super femme fatale” character. She chooses to achieve pleasure and contentment through self-fulfillment that is not dictated by the subservient role as a house wife or defined through a man’s affection. While depicting a confident and sexually free woman, the subject’s mask and body language also suggest a nuanced tone of isolation. The image mirrors her stigmatization in a society that has limiting and strictly defined roles of what a proper woman should be. By diverting the status-quo and exercising freedom of choice, such women in Nigeria are perceived as extreme, eccentric, and outside of the
polite society.

Mario Badagliacca, Chessboard
Identification and Expulsion Centers (CIE) Bari Palese, Italy, 2014

Italy, and other European countries, are at the center of serious violations of human rights with the detention and forced deportation of thousands of migrants. The Identification and Expulsion Centers (CIEs) are deplorable examples of the contradictions of the Italian and European laws on migration. The existence of CIEs is extremely hard to explain. These are not regular prisons and detainees are not regular prisoners. In fact, foreign nationals are hosted within CIEs as “guests”. Yet, their stay in these poorly built structures corresponds to a de facto detention, as they are deprived of their freedom and subjected to a regime of abuse and coercion. The Centers very often resemble prisons, with prisons impenetrable distinctive features: from barbed wire fences, barking dogs to militarized personnel. The Centers are off limits to Italian civil society, journalists and families of detainees who are thus abandoned and in deep distress.

Yi-Jie Chen, Freedom of expression
Taiwan, Republic of China, 2014

The themes of this demonstration on Labor Day 2014 were opposition to low salaries and to the use of temporary workers. This shows that we are free to demonstrate against exploitation. These people, no matter young or old, are holding self-made signs to show their anger from the bottom of their heart.

Nicolas De Luigi, Lost on white sand – 1
North Africa, 2014

This is a picture from a series entitled “lost on white sand”, images of cloth, accessories and common rubbish taken back by the sea on African white beaches. In a naturalistic intact environment, described as paradisiac for the common sense of developed country, you can find all kind of waste. Sometimes the waste is easily attributable to heavy tourism exploitation, at other times it is typically and locally designed. Here, it is all brought to a new aesthetic dimension: the fine and white sand transforms it, ascribing to these pieces a new identity, a new landscape which is alien, array anthropomorphic. The themes of these images are: the sea as a wall dividing populations, the bid farewell to an old life to be born beyond the sea where dreams seem to be reachable, the free movement of people to find a better place to live, the price paid for the trip, the risk around the corner, the abandonment of their land and their possessions.

Jean-Jérôme Destouches, God Loves Gay
Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2012

This photo represents the basis of « Freedom ». It deals with faith freedom and sexual liberty. Both of the people shown in the photo fought for their rights to be who they are. Roberto Gonzalez is an Argentinian gay pastor who suffered from discrimination and was not allowed to work for evangelical church. The transgender faithful stands for the right to be part of the LGBT community and at the same time to believe in God. Despite centuries of discrimination by the Catholic Church many gays and transgenders have faith in God and want to be accepted. So far Vatican won’t consider it.

Khaled Hasan, Leave Me Alone
Bangladesh, 2010

In January 2010, 23-year-old Nasrin’s husband attacked her with acid. He was not satisfied with the dowry her parents paid. After two years of marriage, he wanted more. Her mother, who sells rice cakes to earn a living, refused to pay more. Nasrin’s husband beat her up till she fainted, and when she was unconscious he threw acid on her face, neck and hands.

Michael Vince Kim, Sung-ok Tigay, 92
Ushtobe, Kazakhstan, 2014

Sung-ok is one of the many Koreans who were forcefully deported from the Russian Far East to Central Asia in 1937 during Stalin’s ethnic cleansing. At the time she was 13. Forced to grow rice in the Kazakh desert, she worked until her hands fractured. They lived in holes dug in the ground and were surrounded by Soviet troops to ensure they would not leave their designated area. They were denied the right to learn their own Soviet Korean dialect, which is now almost extinct, but she still remembers songs they used to sing while working in the field.

Mário Macilau, Enjoying
Maputo, Mozambique, 2014

A 15-year-old boy smokes marijuana with his friends. Children smoke as a way of enjoying life in their own spaces. In Mozambique, marijuana circulates widely among street children, who either sell it or smoke it with their friends. Mário Macilau’s photography artwork focuses on political, social and cultural issues, linked to the radical transformations of the humans in time and space. In his photography, he deals with the complex reality of human labor and the environmental conditions evolving over the times, using the images he captures as a form of visual confrontation that state a line of reflection to the reality.

Myriam Meloni, A dream called Europe
Tanger, Morocco, 2015

Sarah, a young sub-Saharan migrant tries on the lifejacket she will use in her attempt to cross the Mediterranean. Since the start of the year, more than 1,750 migrants perished in the Mediterranean, more than 30 times higher than during the same period of 2014. The tightening of European migration policies, the construction of higher and higher fences, and the inhumane treatment by the border police, makes their journey increasingly dangerous. Crossing by boat, has different prices, depending on the boat, and the presence of an engine. Most of the migrant women, would try to cross this way.

Adam Jacobi Møller, Afghan Girl in Athens
Athens, Greece, 2013

This girl fled Afghanistan to Greece. The borders of the EU are being fortified while refugees search for access to the promised continent via ever more dangerous routes. Although the girl was not free to enter Europe, she gained the freedom to demonstrate, to utter her opinion and thoughts through her gestures and speech. She exercised these freedoms and thereby tried to belong in an increasingly unapologetic and inhospitable Europe. She and millions like her have fled their country of origin. Exercising human rights in a new country is a step towards belonging and finding a new home.

Ramón Ruiz Sampaio, Ayotzinapa Protest
Mexico City, Mexico, 2015

The people demand from the government to explain what happened to the 43 students that went missing on September 26, 2014 from Raúl Isidro Burgos Rural teachers college of Ayotzinapa in Iguala Guerrero. On November 7th the government found ashes in a dumpster near Iguala. These, presumably, could have been remains of the missing students. This generated a massive protest in México City, due to the lack of real evidence and information. Mexican society has been silenced, hurt, alienated. The government, to date, has not explained what really happened in Iguala that night. Freedom in all its forms is being repressed in México, by the government, the organized crime or simply by the systematic corruption that infiltrates all levels of
the Mexican society.

Michele Salati, Illuminated
Hong Kong, 2014

“Illuminated” is a photographic series created in Hong Kong during the student protests last year. Students in Hong Kong were claiming their right to universal suffrage. Each illuminated face becomes a symbol of the desire to share the protest with the rest of the world.

Jumoke Sanwo, The Silence
N’Djamena, Chad, 2013

This photograph is part of a conceptual series inspired by the women of The Republic of Chad, a region in the West of Africa that went through a civil war in the period between 2005 and 2010. The series brings to the fore the dynamics of femininity in a male dominated “Freeworld”, the masculation of the female gender whilst highlighting taboo topics women are confronted with, especially in relation to the perceived freedom of women in the society. It brings special attention to women in conflict zones in Africa. Women and girls are often tortured, raped and forced to take up arms. Gender based violence in post conflict societies is highly tolerated resulting in impunity of perpetrators. Most of these women in order to move on with their lives often remain silent and have to pick up new identities to remain in their societies hiding the shame of these acts under veils of suppressed emotions. The subject in this series is a local Chadian visual artist Salma Alio. The series is performative and includes audio recordings, text and images.

Simone Settimo, Border Girl
Albania-Macedonia Border, 2011

This image is part of a reportage made in 2011 in the Balkans (BalkanAF self publish book). The portrayed girl is a Roma and lives in the Albanian/ Macedonian border zone, in a small slum house with her grandmother. She can’t go anywhere, she is trapped in a “freedom prison” – she can stay and walk inside the no-country zone only. She buys food from the border shop thanks to the money gifts from the tourists. The Albanian and Macedonian states don’t want her. She lost her freedom just because she was born in the no-man’s land.

Luigi Storto, Boschetari
Bucharest, Romania, 2011

“During the shooting I was thinking of Pasolini and how Bucharest kids are similar to his “Boys of life”: violence, glue sniffing, cold nights spent outdoors”. Luigi Storto Bucharest street children are also known as boschetari, an abusive term used to refer to homeless people living under bridges, in sewers or parks (boschete). Bathing in the Dâmbovița river is a small ritual at the beginning of summer, a way of hanging on to childhood for a little while yet, a sort of yell breaking the street rules.

Federico Sutera Sardo, Waiting for freedom
Saharawi refugee camps
Tindouf, Algery, 2010

A child forced to live as a refugee in Algeria since he was born. This photo was taken in 2010 in the “hammada Algerina”, a desert area where a part of the saharawis have been living in exile for 37 years. Due to high temperatures and growing draughts this is considered one of the most inhospitable areas
in the world. When in close contact with families forced to live in these conditions, it soon becomes apparent that their situation is hardly bearable and that solution cannot lie with humanitarian aid but in the long overdue recognition of the referendum of self- determination promised by the UN. The long wait is killing the identity and culture of a group that has more than two thousand years of history and lives only in the hope of one day being able to return to its land, freed of all oppression from the Moroccan government.

Patrick Tombola, Not free to be young
Soyapango, El Salvador, 2015

A young marero or gangster with the 18th street gang looks out of his heavily overcrowded jail cell in the district of Soyapango. This image is part of a larger body of work that looks at the challenges young people face. It depicts both Salvadorian youth as it tries to cut spaces of normality for themselves amidst the rising tide of gang related violence, but also young gangsters themselves trapped in a life that will either lead them to be jailed or killed. El Salvador has recently become the most murderous nation in the world outside a war zone, with an average of 25-30 homicides per day, with the overwhelming majority of them being youths. The insecurity that results from such violence has rocked every section of society causing widespread distrust amongst its citizens along with a collective sense of fear and trauma.

Margherita Vitagliano, Untitled
Italy, 2013

This image speaks of psychological prisons; it depicts a prisoner of thought, of prejudice, of fear. We have bars in our heads. The photo bears witness to the courage of all those who try to be finally free, and many people are not free… They are behind bars.

Adebayo Okeowo, The Glue of Africa
Hillcrest, Pretoria South Africa 14 July 2014

According to the International Organization for Migration, South Africa hosts the second highest number of migrants in Africa. From the horn of Africa to its heart, and throughout its length and breath, South Africa draws Africa in. With this diversity should come the understanding of the role it can therefore play as the glue of Africa and as such, issues like xenophobic attacks against migrants should become a distant past!

Arooma Gul, Sheepish
labor camp in Al Quoz, Dubai 7 July 2014

Migrant workers in a labor camp receiving food for Iftar during Ramadan, a community action! Nearly 80% of Dubai population are migrant workers but the laborers’ lives are toughest… long hours of physical work under the burning sun while fasting, excluded residences and queuing for the food if community feels charitable. Is it as good as it gets!?

Adam Jacobi Moller, Amir in Masshad carpet bazar
Iran, 5 October 2013

Amir is from Bamiyan in Afghanistan. He fled in the 1980ies, when the Russians invaded his country. His journey brought him to Tehran. Alas, the Iran – Iraq war soon put his life at risk, and he decided to flee to Masshad in the east of Iran. He has lived there ever since, where he has applied his skills as a trained carpet weaver. A trade that is particularly important in Iran. It therefore gave Amir an opportunity to integrate locally. The bustling carpet bazar in Masshad is a melange of Afghans and Iranians, who are working as equals.

Seun Bakare, Violation of right to food

Rights violation in the midst of plenty resources.

Anand Deo, Respect for migrants
Milan, 18 September 2013

I saw and approached this fainted man near the cathedral of Milan. I do not remember how I explained my presence or my camera to him, but I do remember he asked me no questions except for water. I witnessed one of the most callous human rights abuses where a man surrounded by police was not getting any medical help because of his color and migrant status. This indelible unkindness of human being left an impression in my mind that in the country of civilizations – migrants still does not enjoy a right to equality in totality.

Kim de Vos, Takeaway Lunch

Syrian boy | Reception Center Bulgaria Tech info Last year many Syrian refugees arrived suddenly at the Bulgarian borders. Schools no longer in use, without working showers, laundry rooms, kitchens are now being transformed into reception centers. The Red Cross provides migrants with necessities such as hygiene kits and involves community leaders and children in these centers in hygiene promotion activities.

Allain Dumon Fonte, Little Laughters
Northern Thailand

The photo was taken in one of the refugee communities in Northern Thailand (North of Chiang Mai
City). I felt very terrible after visiting them. The government of Thailand, under the Royal Patronage of Queen Sirikit, created a mini village to house the indigenous refugees from Myanmar. Their motion is limited within the mini village, and they were made into a tourist attraction. Tourists would pay 500 Thai Baht (US$ 20) to walk in to the village and take pictures of them and purchase their crafts. Some of them are stateless. The children who were born in Thailand are not granted with citizenship. Yet, they are happy and (with no other options) contented because they found a safer home in the mini village rather than staying in Myanmar where their lives will be at risk with the on-going hostilities. No one has written, or could write, an article about the issue on the mini village because Thailand has a state law that talking ill against the royal family is a crime. I am hoping that these indigenous people will be granted with all the rights and privileges as indigenous and as refugees in Thailand.

Lisa Pouille, Community action towards the abandonment of FGC and child marriage
Casamance, Senegal January 2013

This picture was taken during the Regional declaration for the abandonment of FGC and child marriage, Casamance, Senegal. While working on an education- based program in Senegal, we realized that it is also important to work in parallel with the diaspora present in Europe, to make sure that migrants are well aware about the social changes that happen in their communities nowadays.

Hashmatullah Kahn, Education awareness
Pakistan, 2013

This picture was captured in 2013 in one community school for Afghan refugees in Pakistan.

Erin Koenig, Nuer Girl
Pagak Entry Point, Ethiopia South Sudan Border
30 April 2014

Migration becomes a necessary type of community action in the face of widespread and ethnic-based conflict. Over 155,000 South Sudanese, largely women and children, have fled South Sudan to Ethiopia following the break out of acute ethnic violence in South Sudan in December 2013. In the case of these refugees, as well as many other migrants around the world, community action and support offers a chance of survival.

Sally Hurt, Those who remain, those left behind

A woman sells sweet potatoes from the side of the road in central Harare, Zimbabwe. Her son works as a taxicab driver in Cape Town. Legally, the term ‘migrant workers’ refers to those who have left
their home country to find work elsewhere, but we seldom ask about those left behind. Many Zimbabweans cross into South Africa to find work; often leaving women, children and elderly persons behind. When it comes to migrants and community action, we should expand the scope and also focus on those who remain. Those who have had to find creative ways to survive and take
care of their families between remittance checks.

Carla Miranda, Contating – say hello to the stranger!
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil December 2013

Refugees, women and children involved in Human Rights in Rio de Janeiro. As a volunteer of Cáritas Arquidiocesana do Rio de Janeiro, a Brazilian NGO that provides assistance to refugees and refuge claimants, I had the pleasure and the opportunity to help in the organization of a soccer competition among refugees and NGO staff marking the involvement of men in a campaign against gender violence. The kickoff was given by a female refugee and took place in a public school, next to the Maracanã Stadium. Students from poor communities of Rio had their first contact with the cause and cheered for the teams as if they were in the World Cup!

Christopher Ben Nyabira, Never Despair

I took this photograph at the Department of Home Affairs, the Republic of South Africa in Pretoria on 11 July 2014. The photo shows the migrant workers from the Middle East and the Horn of Africa tying to get the work permit or renew. Most work permits in South Africa expire after just 6 months. This partly explains the reason there are very long queues everyday . There are also reports of corruption for quicker processing of the permits. Many people who cannot stand the stampede to get an entrance, let alone, getting the permit, suffer a lot very frequently. The women, particularly, are the victims. Some too give up in despair.

Bacha Muleta, Migrant workers

I took this picture with my Sumsung cell phone at Home Affairs (at Marabstad), in Pretoria, Republic
of South Africa on the 11 July 2014.