Portrait of an old man among the refugees as he waits to cross the border from Greece to Macedonia. Idomeni, August 24, 2015.
Refugees walk among the fields towards the Greek-Macedonian border. Idomeni, August 24, 2015.
A small child cries because of the tension as refugees wait to cross the Greek-Macedonian border. Idomeni, August 24, 2015.
Refugees wait to cross the Greek-Macedonian border. Idomeni, August 24, 2015.
Refugees among the fields walk towards the Greek-Macedonian border. Idomeni, August 24, 2015.
A small child on her mother's arms among a group of refugees waiting for the permission from the Macedonian border police to cross the Greek-Macedonian border. Idomeni, August 24, 2015.
A small child on his father's arms and the Macedonian border police on the Greek-Macedonian border. Idomeni, August 24, 2015.
A small tension between refugees waiting to cross the Greek-Macedonian border and the Macedonian border police. Idomeni, August 24, 2015.
Refugees sit down on the train tracks as they wait to cross the Greek-Macedonian border. Idomeni, August 24, 2015.
Refugees cross the border from Greece to Macedonia to board on trains that will take them to the Macedonian-Serbian border.
Refugees wait to be transported by train to the Macedonian-Serbian border while the Macedonian border police is guarding them. Gevgelija, August 23, 2015.
Refugees, among the children, are waiting in the line to board on the train that will take them to the Macedonian-Serbian border. Gevgelija, August 23, 2015.
Refugees are crossing the Greek-Macedonian. Gevgelija, August 23, 2015.
Refugees, among the children, are waiting in the line to board on the train that will take them to the Macedonian-Serbian border. Gevgelija, August 23, 2015.
Refugees, among the children, are waiting in the line to board on the train that will take them to the Macedonian-Serbian border. Gevgelija, August 23, 2015.
Refugees, among the children, in the train that will take them to the Macedonian-Serbian border. Gevgelija, August 23, 2015.
A refugee child carries his luggage as he walks on the train tracks to the Gevgelija bus station. Gevgelija, August 23, 2015.
Refugees are crossing the Greek-Macedonian. Gevgelija, August 23, 2015.
Refugees wait in the line to cross from the Greek side of the border to the Macedonian. Idomeni, August 23, 2015.
A refugee crosses the Greek-Macedonian border. Idomeni, August 23, 2015.
Refugees cross the Greek-Macedonian border from Idomeni to Gevgelija on August 23, 2015.
Refugees cross the Greek-Macedonian border from Idomeni to Gevgelija on August 23, 2015
Refugees after crossing the Greek-Macedonian border walk towards the train that will take them to the Macedonian-Serbian border. Gevgelija, August 23, 2015.
Portrait of a refugee child waiting for the train that will take him to the Macedonian-Serbian border. Gevgelija, August 23, 2015.
A refugee child waiting for the train that will take him to the Macedonian-Serbian border. Gevgelija, August 23, 2015.
The Gevgelija train station. Gevgelija, August 23, 2015.
When we talk about the problems that face the world, we often discuss them in magnitude and numbers. We speak of millions displaced, hundreds of thousands dead, and many wounded.
However, what is often lost below the melee of statistics and news headlines are the stories of the individuals who endure these tragedies. Their personal experiences are what humanize all of the numbers and talking heads.
22-year-old Majd Bayoush was driven out of his hometown of Kafranbel, Syria by war. Desperate to start a new life abroad, he was smuggled to Europe via a long and dangerous underground railway.
He first travelled overland to Turkey, and then took a dangerously overloaded inflatable boat from Turkey to the Greek island of Samos. Once in Greece, he was registered with the Greek authorities and held in a migrant detention center.
After his release from the migrant detention center he began a perilous and exhausting overland journey from Greece to Germany. He trudged on foot over mountains and through forests in the bitter European cold.
Despite his tribulations, Majd was one of the lucky ones. He reached his destination of Hamburg…alive.
Majd’s story is just one of millions of stories about migrants risking their lives over sea and land to have a chance at a better life.
June 20th marks World Refugee Day. The commemoration is an opportunity to pause and consider that, with 50 million displaced people worldwide, today's refugee crisis is the biggest since World War 2.
Alejandro Antonio González, 22, from Guatemala, attends a session with his psychologist, provided by the local NGO Exil in Barcelona, Spain.
Alejandro arrived in Barcelona in September 2013, after being bullied for his homosexual condition for many years back home: his father repudiated him, police used to harass him and his friends in public areas and he was even once kidnapped and raped by two unknown men. He is happy to be now in Barcelona where he attends a psychologist who helps him feel free to express his sexuality. He actively participates in sexual education campaigns for the gay community and he would like to become a nurse in the future.
Alejandro Antonio González (right), 22, from Guatemala, has a drink with one of his best friends in Barcelona, Spain.
Alejandro arrived in Barcelona in September 2013, after being bullied for his homosexual condition for many years back home: his father repudiated him, police used to harass him and his friends in public areas and he was even once kidnapped and raped by two unknown men. He is happy to be now in Barcelona where he attends a psychologist who helps him to feel free to express his sexuality, he actively participates in sexual education campaigns for the gay community and he would like to become a nurse in the future.
Alejandro Antonio González (center), 22, from Guatemala, walks in Barcelona city center, Spain, with two of his best friends.
Alejandro arrived in Barcelona in September 2013, after being bullied for his homosexual condition for many years back home: his father repudiated him, police used to harass him and his friends in public areas and he was even once kidnapped and raped by two unknown men. He is happy to be now in Barcelona where he attends a psychologist who helps him feel free to express his sexuality, he actively participates in sexual education campaigns for the gay community and he would like to become a nurse in the future.
Yaya Ouahara (right) collects food distributed by the local NGO Bona Voluntat en Accio, in Barcelona, as part of the food support program to help migrants and people at risk of exclusion.
Yaya, 36, from Ivory Coast, arrived to Spain in 2009 by a small boat and after three years traveling through Africa. Yaya fled the civil war in his country and he recently got residence permit to stay in Spain permanently.
Yaya Ouahara (right) collects food distributed by the local NGO Bona Voluntat en Accio, in Barcelona, as part of the food support program to help migrants and people at risk of exclusion.
Yaya, 36 years old from Ivory Coast, arrived in Spain in 2009 by a small boat and after three years traveling through Africa. Yaya fled the civil war in his country and he recently got residence permit to stay in Spain permanently.
Yaya Ouahara arrives at home, in Barcelona, which he shares with two other males from Ivory Coast and Morocco.
Yaya, 36, from Ivory Coast, arrived in Spain in 2009 by a small boat and after three years traveling through Africa. Yaya fled the civil war in his country and he recently got residence permit to stay in Spain permanently.
21 May 2015. Barcelona:
Yaya Ouahara, who is Muslim, prays in the bedroom of his apartment, in Barcelona, which he shares with two other males from Ivory Coast and Morocco.
Yaya, 36, from Ivory Coast, arrived in Spain in 2009 by a small boat and after three years traveling through Africa. Yaya fled the civil war in his country and he recently got residence permit to stay in Spain permanently.
Yaya Ouahara, who is Muslim, prays in the bedroom of his apartment, in Barcelona, which he shares with two other males from Ivory Coast and Morocco.
Yaya, 36 years old from Ivory Coast, arrived in Spain in 2009 by a small boat and after three years traveling through Africa. Yaya fled the civil war in his country and he recently got residence permit to stay in Spain permanently.
Yaya Ouahara, who is Muslim, prays in the bedroom of his apartment, in Barcelona, which he shares with two other males from Ivory Coast and Morocco.
Yaya, 36, from Ivory Coast, arrived to Spain in 2009 by a small boat and after three years traveling through Africa. Yaya fled the civil war in his country and he recently got residence permit to stay in Spain permanently.
'Fodoy' (right) orders food to the cook of Foni Restaurant, a business in Raval area, Barcelona, specialized in Gambian food. 'Fodoy' is a nickname for this migrant from Gambia, who arrived to Barcelona in 2007 without residence permit. He fled the country due to political prosecution and departed in a boat to Canary Islands. Then, the Spanish authorities reallocated him to Valencia and then to Barcelona. His asylum request has been blocked until 2017 due to having been condemned for drugs dealing. Until then, he is struggling to find accommodation and to have income to survive, although organizations such as CCAR assist him from time to time.
'Fodoy' rolls a cigarette after lunch in Foni Restaurant, located in Raval area, Barcelona, run by Gambian cooks and specialized in Gambian food. 'Fodoy' is a nickname for this migrant from Gambia, who arrived to Barcelona in 2007 without residence permit. He fled the country due to political prosecution and departed in a boat to Canary Islands. Then, the Spanish authorities reallocated him to Valencia and then to Barcelona. His asylum request has been blocked until 2017 due to having been condemned for drugs dealing. Until then, he is struggling to find accommodation and to have income to survive, although organizations such as CCAR assist him from time to time.
'Fodoy' is a nickname for this migrant from Gambia, who arrived to Barcelona in 2007 without residence permit. He fled the country due to political prosecution and departed in a boat to Canary Islands. Then, the Spanish authorities reallocated him to Valencia and then to Barcelona. His asylum request has been blocked until 2017 due to having been condemned for drugs dealing. Until then, he is struggling to find accommodation and to have income to survive, although organizations such as CCAR assist him from time to time.
'Fodoy' rests in Ciutadilla parc, in Barcelona. 'Fodoy' is a nickname for this migrant from Gambia, who arrived to Barcelona in 2007 without residence permit. He fled the country due to political prosecution and departed in a boat to Canary Islands. Then, the Spanish authorities reallocated him to Valencia and then to Barcelona. His asylum request has been blocked until 2017 due to having been condemned for drugs dealing. Until then, he is struggling to find accommodation and to have income to survive, although organizations such as CCAR assist him from time to time.