I am a PhD student, working on renewable energy, with a strong interest in photography and visual storytelling. During my studies, I've found that scientific communication often fails to inspire people to act, even if the facts are clearly laid out. Visual communication can not only draw attention but also serves as a relatable anchor point for these facts. In the future I strive to combine my experience in scientific work with my photographic vision and activism, to educate a broad audience about complex issues that demand both a factual and creative approach.
Serien
photoSCHWEIZ 2021
10 Bilder
Velika Kladusa, in the north-eastern corner of Bosnia-Herzegovina, is one of several migration hot spots on the border of the EU. Large numbers of refugees are stranded here, hoping to eventually make it over the border and claim asylum in the EU. The official refugee camps are long since overcrowded and no longer accept people. Thus, hundreds live in squalid conditions, in abandoned and unfinished buildings, old factories littered with industrial and residential trash, or in sleeping bags and old tents in the woods. Food, warm clothing, firewood, and shelter are all in short supply. There is only very limited medical care provided by volunteers and NGOs, while the local hospital routinely refuses to treat refugees. Locals and aid organizations that try to help are constantly harassed by authorities, who seem to hope that the 'problem' will go somewhere else if they just behave nasty enough. Unfortunately, the 'somewhere else' is not only crueler, but is so with the backing and funding of the EU. Among the refugee population this process is no longer called applying for asylum, but going on game. The game? It is to try and cross Croatia and Slovenia without being caught and reach central Europe. If caught, they are beaten, stripped of their valuables, clothes and shoes, and pushed back to Bosnia over the green border. This is a flagrant violation of national law, EU law and the human rights convention. In Velika Kladusa, it is now normal to see people returning from the border with broken bones, open wounds, no shoes and no clothes. All this happens under the eyes of the EU. Not only have they failed to reign in this kind of behavior, but they are actively complicit. The Croatian border police is funded through the EU Frontex program, and Croatia has been praised for its work in securing the EU border. The use of similar tactics in central Europe is on the rise, with reports from chain push backs to Bosnia starting as far as Italy and Austria. I've spent time there, helping out a small NGO, and tried to understand and document. Most images covering this topic in the news feature graphic depictions of the human suffering and the shocking nature of the situation. While this is undoubtedly part of the reality, and therefore also part of this series, I've come to realize that these images do not do the situation justice. One main goal of the NGO I worked with is to enable some normality and escape from the daily grind to survive. Be it a shared meal, a game o
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