France

Abdirahim embarked on his irregular journey in 2014 with the objective of getting to Europe. Despite his awareness of the dangers that come with such journeys, he was willing to gamble with his life and try, hoping to be one of the people who succeed in making it.

15 year old Rahwa embarked on her irregular journey to Europe in 2015. The decision to make the journey was made together with her friends, and without her parents’ knowledge.

16 year old Lwam began her irregular journey in July 2014. Many of the students from Lwam’s school had already left the country and she found it difficult to concentrate knowing that her friends were gone. Her mother was particularly worried when Lwam left for school, worried that she would not come back at the end of the day, worried that she would cross the border.

18 year old Selam started her irregular journey in 2015 after having lived in Sudan for five years. She had left Eritrea in 2010 to move to Khartoum, Sudan, where she was living with her mother and siblings. Life proved to be difficult in Sudan. The government was cracking down on people who didn’t have legal permits, which made it difficult for Selam to work or study. Out of fear of being arrested, she decided to leave without informing her parents.

Yonas, an Eritrean refugee, is hoping to one day cross over to the UK. Like many, he fled Eritrea for Sudan, where he lived in a refugee camp for four years. Due to a difficult life and a constant feeling of insecurity, he decided to embark on the perilous journey to Europe, during which he witnessed unthinkable hardships affecting children and adults alike.

Baylon, in his early 20s, was born in Sudan to Eritrean refugees. While in Sudan, he got into a conflict with the law authorities who threatened to deport him to Eritrea. He escaped prison, and within two days he had started on the perilous journey to Libya.

Ahmed left Eritrea in 2014, crossing the border into Sudan where he spent no more than ten days before embarking on the infamously dangerous journey through Libya. No sooner had his journey begun, did he find himself face to face with death.