The European migrant crisis or European refugee crisis began in 2015, when an increasing number of refugees and migrants made the journey to the European Union (EU) to seek asylum, travelling across the Mediterranean Sea or through Southern Europe. They came from areas such as Western and South Asia, Africa, and the Western Balkans. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the top three nationalities of the over one million Mediterranean Sea arrivals in 2015 were Syrian (49%), Afghan (21%) and Iraqi (8%). Of the refugees and migrants arriving in Europe by sea in 2015, 58% were men, 17% women and an alarming 25% underage children.
This project has already begun at the makeshift camp of Idomeni in Greece. It is intended to be continued through that country as well as other “hot-spots” such as Melilla in northern Africa, Calais in France, and new places that will most likely arise. The project concentrates, from a humanitarian point of view, on the effect of political decisions on real people and their families. Such is the case of the closure of the Macedonian-Greek (Fyrom) border a month ago, already portrayed on these images.
Javier Fernandez, documentary photographer born in Jerez, southern Spain in 1980.
Website: javierfergo.com
