Besides those who look into the camera and those who look away, there are others whose heads are bowed. One, in particular, carries his head on a hand. There is nothing of him to be seen besides this gesture of withdrawal, his identity as opaque as those sheets of rolled paper. Other expressions are sober. The picture, intended in its quick take to capture most of the scene, is cropped at an angle that tells little of how many more people might be there. Yet consider the overhanging presence of a map, marking the storied country where this river of men have pooled into.

— Emmanuel Iduma

This photograph was taken in a migrant detention center in Tajoura, 20km east of Tripoli, Libya. A group of sub-Saharan migrants was intercepted by Libyan coast guards at sea and were sent to the Tajoura detention center.

The background is interesting, we can see a map of Africa, with Libya labeled with a different color. I am also interested in the expression on the faces of these immigrants who crossed great distances to go to Europe but were intercepted in the last phase of their journey.

My goal with this photograph was to reveal the common humanity of Africans, demonstrating that they experience the same pain and harbor the same hopes.

— Taha Jawashi

A former tour guide in Libya, Taha Jawashi initially explored the world through the lens of a hobbyist photographer. However the 2011 uprising in Libya redefined his path, transforming passion into a profession. As a freelance photojournalist, he has dedicated seven years to capturing the human stories behind the immigration crisis in Libya, with his work featured in publications like The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Times. His journey led me to Spain in 2018, where he now contributes his visual storytelling expertise to documentary films as a DP and camera operator. More of his work can be found on his Instagram.