Slideshow: For some, Mediterranean crossing leads to life under The Bridge in Paris
All photos by Raphaël Krafft. Listen to or read the accompanying story here.
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- Refugees in the Koubri camp can’t legally work. They sometimes beg passersby, putting a cup or a bowl on the sidewalk at the other side of the street. (Photo Credit: Raphaël Krafft)
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- Very few children live in Koubri. They are rarely seen, as their parents often keep them away from the camp during the day. A mother left her child’s coat to dry on the fence surrounding Koubri. (Photo Credit: Raphaël Krafft)
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- Koubri is settled under the elevated Paris Metro line 2 that crosses the city on an East-West axis. The campground is walking distance from Montmartre Hill, a major tourist attraction. (Photo Credit: Raphaël Krafft)
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- Mohammad Ahmad Mohammad fled war in Sudan. His wife was shot dead in his hometown of Damazin in September 2011 in fighting between Sudanese Army Forces and the SPLM-N of former governor Malik Agar. (hoto Credit: Raphaël Krafft)
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- Morning prayer at Koubri campground. A majority of the refugees are Muslim, although some Eritreans and Ethiopians are Christian. (Photo Credit: Raphaël Krafft)
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- Not all have a tent to sleep inside at Koubri. Spring has been unseasonably chilly this year in Paris. (Photo Credit: Raphaël Krafft)
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- Zacharia, who comes from Morroco, has been living in his tent in Koubri for two months. (Photo Credit: Raphaël Krafft)
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- Ablutions are made with plastic bottles in the Koubri campground before morning prayer. (Photo Credit: Raphaël Krafft)
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- Abraham is an Eritrean refugee. (Photo Credit: Raphaël Krafft)
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- A general view of Koubri campground. (Photo Credit: Raphaël Krafft)
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- Early morning in Koubri campground. (Photo Credit: Raphaël Krafft)
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- Joëlle lives in a suburb of Paris. She comes to Koubri once a week to bring the refugees donated items she gathers. She does not belong to any organization: “I would feel guilty not doing anything to help these people.” (Photo Credit: Raphaël Krafft)
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- Many volunteers come to give clothes. Two Eritrean refugees try them on. (Photo Credit: Raphaël Krafft)
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- French police regularly dismantle informal markets set up on the sidewalk where refugees from Koubri, and some locals, buy and sell basic goods. (Photo Credit: Raphaël Krafft)
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- Morning prayer in Koubri. (Photo Credit: Raphaël Krafft)
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- 26-year-old Samir has lived in the camp for one month. He fled Eritrea six years ago, after deserting the army he was forced to join as a child-soldier at age 13. He hides his face because he does not want his family back in Eritrea to see him “in this state of misery.” (Photo Credit: Raphaël Krafft)
