Réfugiés, exclus, SDF histoires et témoignages.

Reportage photographique sur le monde des exclus et des réfugiés à travers le monde.

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The refugees and displaced - report

The homeless population in France is supposed to average between 100.000 to 800.000 persons.

Photography reporting in France.

Gégé, 64, Roquelaine Place, homeless since 30 years.

“I have been about and around in life. As a soldier of the foreign legion, I travelled several times around the world. I was part of the uprising in Algiers. I was an artist on Place du Tertre in Montmartre. I swear I had a full and exciting life. But, I was not able to settle down, although I tried. I married but could’nt stay. I became so depressed that I began to drink beyond reason. Very quickly I lost track and found myself on the street. I have never been able to pull out.”

Text : Guillaume Plassais, Journalist.

Without appropriate statistics, it is difficult to evaluate the number of homeless in France. Soup distributed on a winter night by the Salvation Army.The main pathologies of the homeless result from malnutrition and deficiencies in vitamins C and calcium. A homeless with his dog, sleeping near a metro entrance in Toulouse.A homeless is a person who sleeps on the streets or in a shelter. Also described as homeless or vagrant. Ludovic, 20 years old, Place Jeanne d’Arc in Toulouse.Gégé, 64 years old, Place Roquelaine, a tramp since 30 years.A homeless is a person who sleeps on the streets or in shelters. Also described as homeless or vagrant.A homeless is a person who sleeps on the street or in a shelter. The Salvation Army also helps them find jobs and lodging.

“Last week, someone from a terrace spilled a basin of water over my head. He told me that I was stinking and had better get away or else.....”
“I’d rather sleep outside as I don’t trust the shelter: they are like cops ! They’ve also tried to lock me up in hospital to take care of me. And there’s so much riff-raff: a real cut-throat. At least outside, I feel safe.
I have a phlebitis which gets worse when it’s warm and makes it hard for me to walk, so that I cannot go to the social restaurant in Ramiers(in the outskirts of Toulouse). I mostly miss the affection of my folks. Solitude and alcohol, mingled.... it’s an explosive cocktail.”

According to statistics, 48% of homeless women in Paris are 18 to 30 years old. The Salvation Army helps them find jobs and lodging.The homeless are in poor health. A homeless treated in the medical center of the Salvation Army near the Porte des Lilas in Paris.In this hostile environment, groups get together. Two young homeless in Belfort. The Salvation Army cruises all night to provide help, comfort and meals.Relaxing in a night shelter of the Salvation Army in Belfort. A Johnny Hallyday fan having fun.Struggling to survive, a homeless cannot afford to be sick. The Salvation Army medical center helps and listens.The homeless do not have the choice of meals. Distribution of night soups by the Salvation Army.

Sergio, 50, Olivier Place in Toulouse.

“Family violence, prison, alcohol... a classic for the guy who lives out on the street. My father, a former military, used to beat me and my mother was always too drunk to protect me. Consequently, I live on the streets since the age of 13. How on earth can I be expected to be part of the social pattern after such a bad start ? I tried, but nothing doing. When I feel as though I’m suffocating, I take my guitar, my sack and fly.... I’m a big traveller: I crossed Europe. I’m claustrophobic and am unable to get used to comfort: I refused social lodging and preferred returning on the street, despite insecurity. I have beeen attacked many times. I once almost died, when three young outcasts broke my ribs with a baseball bat, whilst I was under my quilt. The ambulance picked me up totally unconscious. Ever since, I have two big german shepherds, who keeep watch over me. They are most precious. Doctors of the World will have them vaccinated. I never go to sleep in shelters as dogs are not accepted. Without my dogs I’m a dead man.
I never take my shoes off for fear of having them stolen. And of course my feet are sore, especially in the summertime, and my legs prick. I know a guy with a gangrene who had to be amputated. Losing my legs would be dramatic for a traveller like me.
I have a cataract starting because of alcohol. Begging allows me to stay alive, remain decent and buy my meals. I refuse to go to the social restaurant. I do not want to live on welfare !

Text: Guillaume Plassais Journalist

Ivorian refugees during the civil war in 2005.

The armed conflict and instability in the Ivory Coast since september 2002, have caused a humanitarian crisis particularly affecting the poor. Notwithstanding progress made for peace. the conflict still affects civilians.

The european commission has voted funds amounting to 5.74 million euros, to cover the basic needs of the population. The displaced and refugee populations in the neighbouring countries, also benefit from this emergency aid.

Women and children constitute the essential majority of refugees and displaced in the world. Most of them have fled war, misery and violence to find shelter in another region of their country or in a neighbouring country.

In Ivory Coast, approx.one million people displaced since the beginning of civil war.Two young liberian refugees in Abidjan after having fled civil war in their country, and shortly before war broke out in Ivory Coast.Wars between rebels and royalists have caused many deaths and about 750,000 ivorians have been displaced.Two young liberian refugees in Abidjan after having fled civil war in their country, and shortly before war broke out in Ivory Coast.Attacks by armed groups against civilians have made many refugees among the ivorian population and neighbouring countries.Women and children constitute the vast majority of refugees and displaced in the world. Most of them have fled from war, misery and violence in their country of origin.Women and children constitute the vast majority of refugees and displaced in the world. Most of them have fled from war, misery and violence in their country of origin.Women and children constitute the majority of refugees and displaced in the world. Today, the measures taken for their protection are insufficient.Ivorian refugees during the civil war in 2005.

Maslakh, one of the biggest refugee and displaced people camps in Afghanistan.

Photography reporting in Afghanistan.

Maslakh: a town on the outskirts of the city, endless brick and mud shacks, and some 150000 displaced people, living together since a year, in one of the largest refugee camps in the world, surrounded by mountains swept by the ochre dust of dryness.

Maslakh, in Afghanistan, is one of the biggest refugee camps in the world. There are more than 150.000 refugees and displaced people in the world, because of war, american bombing and famine.Maslakh is situated west of Herat. Nobody knows the exact number of refugees in this camp. Most of them don’t even have a tent to shelter them from the cold.Maslakh, one of the biggest refugee camps. According to humanitarian organizations, close to 7 million Afghans over 22 millions are gravely in danger.Maslakh meaning slaughter house, is one of the biggest refugee camps in the world. The temperature goes down to -20 degrees at night ; the refugees sleep in tents distributed by the UN.Maslakh, one of the biggest refugee camps in the world. Humanitarian aid remains way under the basic needs of the population.Conditions are passed limits. Every day, 100 persons die of hunger and cold; mostly small children and old people.Maslakh, in Afghanistan, is one of the biggest refugee camps in the world. 2500 persons arrive every week. in this camp overcrowded with at least 150.000 persons.Maslakh, in Afghanistan, is one of the biggest refugee camps in the world. A survey reveals a global malnutrition rate of 26.4%, and a severe malnutrition rate of 6.6%.Maslakh, in Afghanistan, is one of the biggest refugee camps in the world. People from different tribes: patchouns, hazaras, tadjiks.., live together in this camp.Maslakh, in Afghanistan, is one of the biggest refugee camps in the world with more than 150.000 persons, women, children, old people, who flee from american bombing and famine.Maslakh, in Afghanistan, is one of the biggest refugee camps in the world with more than 150.000 persons, women, children, old people, who flee from american bombing and famine.Maslakh, in Afghanistan, is one of the biggest refugee camps in the world, where more than 150.000 starving, exhausted and scared people live.


Every day, 200 new arrivals are registered, driven on the roads by drought in the provinces of Ghor and Baghdis, since three years.. A small minority flees the fighting and bombs which have once again ravaged the country this winter. Recently, the death toll has considerably increased. In winter, lung infections increase, and tuberculosis accounts for a quarter of the deceased..

Text: Mathilde Damoisel, Journalist

Bohemians and gypsies.

Photography reporting in France

According to the ERCC (European Center for Bohemian Rights), the gypsy population in France officially amounts to appox. 500.000 persons, although unofficial sources estimate the number to be closer to 1.2 million persons. The estimated 8 million european gypsy population is spread out over most of the european countries.

Bohemians, Gypsies, Gitanos, Manouches, Sintes, Kales, Roms.. describe the various groups of “Romany” people corresponding to different periods and places.Already victims of discrimination in their country, the “Roms” also find it hard in France to have access to jobs, social and health benefits, schools, etc..Since January 1, 2007, when their country joined the European Union, the romanian “Roms” are free to travel and stay in France.Although citizens of the European Union, Roms are evacuated, expelled and controlled. Undesirable in France, Roms constantly have to move from one place to another and are regularly evacuated.The French government has begun expelling hundreds of Roma it says have settled in the country illegally. Most of them are Romanian nationals. In Bucharest, many see the move as unfair and opportunistAnnounced by the French president and his ministers, the decision to dismantle Gypsy camps will see some 700 people with Romanian passports sent back to the country by the end of August 2010.


The “Roms” are europeans of indian origin, whose ancestors came from the valley of the Ganges in North India, since 800 years.

Gypsis girl in Lyon France.

Tsunami aftermath.

Photography reporting in Sri Lanka

On December 26, 2004, the Sri Lanka coastline was devastated by the tsunami. 30.000 people died and about one million inhabitants fled inland. They live in makeshift camps, together with the 10.000 families of Kinniya peninsula on the east coast, a few kilometers from Trincomalee.

Ironically, at Central College, displaced people smile even though they are in mourning. Life has to go on, shrill children voices, people talking in the shade, in spite of the graveyard at the camp entrance as a sad reminder of the Tsunami victims. A woman wearing a green and gold sari washes clothes at the well, surrounded by her four children refreshing themselves with water. Women have hung their babies in saris on the branches of trees to protect them from the sun and cradle them to sleep. The men are at the police station declaring their losses caused by the tidal-wave.

Entire villages have disappeared. Survivors have become homeless, no food, no drinkable water and no medication.Sri Lanka was the most severely wreaked by the tsunami, after Indonesia. Officially, 30.920 persons died, 519.063 were displaced and 103.836 homes destroyed.On December 26, the Sri Lanka coasts were devastated by the tsunami, killing over 30.000 people and urging millions of inhabitants to move inland.Aftermath is terrifying : epidemics, damage to ecology; water shortatge and above all the psychological traumas.The earthquake was initially estimated having a magnitude of 8.5, then 8.9 and finally 9.1, according to the American Geological Institute.Waves 3 to 15 meters high swept over certain areas carrying away people who had not been alerted of the danger.The number of persons dead, or presumed dead, following the tidal wave which swept over the Indian ocean coast on December 26 exceeds 280.000 persons.The human impact varied. Whereas Sri Lanka suffered the heaviest losses, parodoxically Idonesia paid the highest price in human losses.The earthquake led to several tsunamis particularly deadly on the south Indian coast (5.700 victims), Indonesia (5.000 victims) and Sri Lanka (10.000 victims).Within a few minutes, several towns were totally ravaged, thousands of kilometers devastated. 230.000 deaths overall, Sri Lanka, alone, accounting for 30.000.The tsunami which hit the indian ocean on December 26, caused heavy losses in eight countries: India, Indonesia,Malaysia,Myanmar, Somalia, Sri Lzanka and Thailand.


Losses are heavy. Each family lost several members of their family and their homes. Children, however, have chosen their playground in the middle of the college and wish to go back to school to “meet again with their friends”. One thousand persons live here since end December, awaiting the decision of the authorities.

Text: Stephanie Senet, jou

On December 26, the Sri Lanka coast was ravaged by the tsunami causing over 30.000 deaths and about one million inhabitants moving inland.On December 26, the Sri Lanka coasts were devastated by the tsunami, causing the death of over 30.000 persons. Portrait of a young woman who lost her husband, a fisherman.

In Jakarta, on December 26, 2004, the earthquake reached a magnitude of 5.5 on the Richter scale.

Photography reporting in Indonesia.

Seventeen months after the tsunami hit the island of Sumatra, Indonesia faced another natural catastrophe. On May 27, 2006, an earthquake, magnitude 6.3, shook the Yogyakarta region, on Java island. Six endless seconds.. .

People streamed the hospital courtyard. They came in cars, in ambulances, on motorcycles, carts...Wounded by the earthquake, they sometimes took several days to reach the hospital in Bantul, heavily crowded in this zone destroyed at 80%. “We waited in our villages because of rumors that the hospital was full” said a 40 year old woman who had surgery for a broken arm. Five days after the disaster, the hospital was still crammed.. Each day, Admissions Service worried about making more room. The front yard was littered with beds for the wounded and their families..

Text: Stephanie Senet, Journalist

On May 27, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake, struck the region of Yogyakarta (center of the island of Java) causing near to 6.000 deaths, thousands of wounded and hundreds homeless.On May 27, 2006 at 5:54 local time, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake, at a depth of 33kms. struck the island of Java, 37 kilometers south of Yogyakarta in the indonesian island.An estimated 35.000 houses and other buildings have collapsed. In the rubble, inhabitants search for food and eventual survivors.According to a survey published by the Indonesian ministry of social affairs, the earthquake caused 5.782 deaths, 36,299 wounded and 200.000 homeless.The town of Bantul suffered the most. Those who have lost their homes, await in tents the drugs and food they need.The 6.3 magnitude earthquake caused 200.000 homeless. 3.000 persons died and others have seen their homes collapse.The Bantul area south of Yogyakarta, suffered the most. The highest death toll and wounded, with approx. 3.000 houses destroyed.Over 33.200 persons were severely wounded, according to the Indonesian ministry for social affairs, and 13.000 slightly wounded.The Ministry of Social Affairs estimated that 6.300 were killed, 67.000 homes collapsed and 7.200 considerably ruined, leaving 200.000 persons homeless.


Entire villages disfigured..

Twenty kilometers away, the village of Srihardono is a sad spectacle. Everything crumbled down.
In the eery silence, a group of inhabitants walk around the ruins, in a state of shock. “In the morning before the earthquake, I was drinking tea” said Tardini, in a low voice, standing in front of a heap of bricks that once were his house. “My son was taking a shower, when I felt the ground shake. We went out immediately and ran towards the village entrance to go far from our houses. Some people took off on the roads to join their folks, but we are still quite a few here, even if we no longer have a roof. There would have been many more dead, if the earthquake had struck during the night,”

Text: Stephanie Senet, Journalist

At least 30.000 persons were wounded, and more than 130.000 homeless were displaced after the collapse of their houses and other buildings in the region.

In Nicaragua, at Puerto Cabezas, 74.2% of women, are victims of family and sex violence.

Photography reporting in Nicaragua.

Doctors of the world are in charge of the medical needs of those victims and alert the population. They have also developed in association with public figures, a network to follow up the legal and social procedures. A center, called Caimca, was created to fully take charge of the carribean women. This global coverage tends to reinstate the health structures as social control institutions to curtail the development of violence. The network uses traditional medias to inform on lobbying actions and on the recruiting and training of volunteers (women relay; judges, etc.).

In Nicaruaga, men’s violence towards women is “natural”. Violence in married couples is tolerated.Karla, 12 years old, from miskito village in Krukira raped by her father and pregnant.Over the world, at least 1/3 of women are beaten and forced to have sex or ill-treated in any other way, often by an acquaintance.Close to 50% of women in the world were beaten or physically ill-treated by their partner at some stage. One woman out of four is ill-treated during pregnancy.


Karla, 12 years old, from Miskito village in Krikura, pregnant after having been raped by her father.
“My dad abused of me when my mom was working on the markets. I never dared to say a thing as he would pretend that all fathers did the same and that he would kill me if I were to speak. I was scared because he beat my mom and stole her money to drink and take drugs. When my grandma noticed my pregnancy, I first denied but she forced me to confess and took me to the police station.
I was told to go to the hospitality-center. Over there I understood that I was not the only one and that I had rights. I could watch TV every day. Since my dad fled to Honduras, I left the center. I live in my mother’s village and take care of my seven little brothers. I am eager now to go back to school and friends at Puerto Cabezas. I belong there and have so many projects for the future!”

Text: Guillaume Plassais, Journalist

Ofelia does not keep her eyes off little Tambo. A tender gaze of victory after having run away from home with her children.Sex violence, i.e. rape, family violence, honor crimes, and the white slave traffic, seriously affect mental and physical health.

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