Escape from the North
Burkina Faso Refugee Camps
Burkina Faso, meaning “Land of Honorable People,” is located in the heart of West Africa and, with a population of 22 million, is facing the most challenging struggle for survival in its modern history. After years of French colonial rule, it gained independence in 1960 under the name “Upper Volta.” With the 1983 revolution, it erased the traces of its colonial past and assumed its current identity. Since 2015, this land has been struggling to survive under the shadow of terrorism and conflict.
Millions of people caught between terrorist organizations and government forces in the north have been forced to leave their homes and pasts behind, taking refuge in the country’s interior. The camps established in the Sogolzi, Yagma, Kaya, and Lindi regions are now the destinations of this forced migration. However, these places are not merely shelters; they are a limbo where there is no electricity, water is hauled from wells, and life is being rebuilt under primitive conditions.
This photo selection documents life in the refugee camps, moving beyond mere statistics. It brings to light the lives trapped between the dust of the red soil and the white of the tents, the order established amidst deprivation, and the silent gazes waiting for the support of the international community.
Built with brushwood, mud, and tarpaulins, this settlement reveals a “temporary” yet enormous living space where hundreds of people struggle to survive.
Traces of time. Worn-out tarps are repaired with whatever materials are at hand; shelters meant to be temporary become permanent homes.
Small gardens and fences set up in front of tents. Symbols of property and the struggle to cling to settled life.
The daily rhythm of the camp is determined by a grueling workday that begins with sunrise and relies entirely on muscle power. In this region, where electricity and technology are unavailable, sustaining life depends on the endurance of the human body. Water is drawn from wells by hand and carried for miles in yellow containers; food takes shape on tables set by women working together and in grains ground using primitive methods. This section focuses on that simple cycle of life, where every drop of water and every bite of food is the reward for a never-ending physical struggle.
Balancing the weight and carrying the yellow barrels to the tents is on the children’s shoulders.
In a world without electricity and machines, food production relies entirely on muscle power and tradition.
A family meal. Food cooked in outdoor kitchens with limited supplies.
Community work. Solidarity among women is the strongest bond that sustains the social fabric of the camp.
Extinguished fires and sooty pots. Silence that lasts until the next meal.
Beyond the struggle for shelter and food, the camp’s main pillar is its strong social fabric. Under the scorching heat, the shade of trees becomes makeshift squares where the community gathers, shares their troubles, and socializes. Children, who make up the overwhelming majority of the population, continue to resist through play despite the traumatic scars of war and displacement; the camp’s streets overflow with the silent solidarity of people waiting together for an uncertain future.
The importance of shade. Campers escaping the heat of their tents socialize under the trees.
Areas established for animals, the family’s most valuable possessions, which are not left behind when migrating.
Population and demographics. Women and children make up the vast majority of the camp population.
Children find a way to create their own world under difficult conditions.
From one place to another. The endless movement and routine within the camp.
Colorful fabrics spread out on dusty bushes.
Amidst the anonymous crowds created by mass migration, human stories are often overshadowed by statistics. This section narrows the lens from the general to the specific, bringing the viewer face to face with individuals from the ‘Land of Honorable People’. With the traditional marks on their faces, their dignified stance as they wait for news from their radios, and their resilience rooted in their faith, these portraits are a testament not to poverty, but to dignity. The eye contact established here removes them from being mere ‘victims’ and defines them as strong characters, owners of their own stories and resilience. The viewer will find not an expression of helplessness behind these gazes, but an honorable stance clinging to life. This section is the “Heart” of the exhibition. The viewer and the people in the photographs meet eye to eye.
A window to the world. The battery-powered radio, the only way to get news from conflict zones and the capital.
Resilience. A mother who remains steadfast despite everything.
With the traditional scars on her face and the baby in her arms, past and future are intertwined.
Compassion. The unchanging bond between mother and child, even under the most difficult circumstances.
Faith. A shared living space where different faith groups share the same destiny.
Surrender. A moment of spiritual refuge in the midst of deprivation.
Behind the sun-scorched squares and crowds gathered around water wells lies the unseen side of the camp: ‘Inside’. This section crosses the thin boundary that makeshift tarps place between the outside world and the camp, turning the lens toward the most intimate areas of lives confined to just a few square meters. Piles of colorful fabrics, mats spread on the ground, and modest meals shared in the dim light of the tent reveal the fragile yet warm ‘home’ order established within deprivation. This is the only refuge where the chaos outside cannot enter, where people are left alone with their own stories.
Curiosity and fear. An inquiring gaze directed at the lens.
Cramped. The breakdown of a whole life squeezed into a few square meters.
Innocence. Unlike the dust, the crowds, and the struggle for life outside; that moment when time stands still in the shade of the tent. On the mat spread on the ground, unaware of the harsh reality of the camp, just that carefree surrender that comes with being a child.
The languor of the midday heat or the approaching quiet of evening.
As the sun sets, the camp returns to its lightless reality, described in the text as ‘limbo’. In these hours when the red earth is replaced by absolute darkness, life takes refuge only in the faint glow of the unquenchable fires and embers. This section documents the night shift, when the chaos of the day gives way to silent silhouettes around the fire and smoky haze. Here, darkness is not merely a time frame; it is a heavy atmosphere where faces are shadowed, security diminishes, and the struggle for life takes on its most dramatic form.
Night shift. Pots bubbling in the dark and rising smoke.
Alone in the darkness. The fine line between security and uncertainty.
Experience. A face that bears the weariness of the years, a face that has witnessed history.
Flags fade, fires die out, and the night ends; only that stubborn hope remains, continuing to flap its wings even under the heaviest burdens.
