Someone told me recently here in Cairo that he does not understand the concept of passport, this notebook that identifies you as a resident of a country, it gives entry to another or it makes it more complicated. This person does not understand why governments invest so many resources to control their borders and to approve laws to restrict the flows of people within its territory. And especially he does not understand that the journey of a person can be ever considered illegal (or irregular, euphemisms don’t matter).
And I do not understand either. Because in the end I see people suffering more or too much to exercise their human rights at all costs and they end up moving around in this crazy world. Because the need pushes them: Mary from South Sudan has fallen ill in Egypt after 20 years fleeing; Mohamed and Mahmud almost got killed in a boat in the Mediterranean; Ibrahim, a geologist from Darfur, cleans toilets of the rich people in Cairo; Ali, an Egyptian who spent 16 years working as a waiter in Holland without saving a penny; Olemba, a Cameroonian with a football dream and a reality of nine people living under his roof; or Raheal, an Ethiopian who fled her country to another where she got stolen.
They are the six main characters of my next project, “Crossroads”, which will be released soon for the International Migrants Day, on 18 December. You can see the trailer here.
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