ENTRY DESCRIPTION
This picture was taken in March 2022 in Borama, Somaliland. This old lady lives in tents in the middle of the desert, with no sanitation, roads, access to water nor food. The men in the morning try to go to the city nearby to bring back food while children and women spend the whole day waiting, bored and struggling. This old lady is half blind, but even so she wanted to show me the living conditions in which she and her tribe must live in. Conditions that are inhumane. They are what we call IDPs, Internally Displaced People, that fled their home, far worse we were told. One wonders how worse could it be. These people lack of everything, from the basic needs to education. A place where their future and lives stand still such as the landscapes that surround them. The project I am working on is trying to better the life of these people by implementing social integration, decent housing, access to health facilities and sanitation. Urban expansion is also a key aspect on which the cities must need to work on to avoid these type of settlements and slums. It was absolutely heartbreaking to witness such living conditions, under the burning sun with no trees to hide in the shade. Yet they were really welcoming and did not stop sharing smiles with us. I sure hope my images and the project will have a positive impact and raise awareness about what people are experiencing. Unfortunately, they are far from being the only ones. Millions around the globe share the same burden of life, a burden made heavier due to climate change and the threat of famine. I believe the wrinkles of this lady, of whom I do not know the age, speak for themselves.

AUTHOR
I am a freelance videographer, based in Brussels, working for different news agencies such as APTN or Reuters. I have also been implicated in many social orientated projects around the world, covering topic such as migration and refugees, modern slavery, forced labor and other related topics. These projects have brought me around the world on all continents to produce video on human stories. Currently, as I am writing, I am producing, filming and editing video for a UN based project on "cities without slums" around East Africa. The countries covered are Ethiopia, Somaliland, Kenya and Uganda. This is where I am starting my photographer career. I was asked to do pictures as well as filming, which I started doing with my Sony alpha 7s2, and I must say this has been a wake up call for me and my future as a professional. The knowledge from video and filming has given me the tools and the eye to move to photography. This contest is the first one I am applying to.

I wish to continue with photography in the many projects coming up this year and for 2023, and maybe make it my main activity.

Other than that, I produce and play music in a band and for my solo project. I speak Spanish, English and French fluently.

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