Nov 25 - 'SOS' Photography Exhibition Explores African Immigrant Crisis

Written by YGTV Team on 25 November 2015.

Photographs depicting the plight of West African immigrants are currently on display at The Gustavo Bacarisas Gallery.

The photographic exhibition named ‘SOS’ charters the trials and tribulations of the sub-Saharan immigrants attempting to cross over into Europe in search for a better life and is run by The JM Memorial Foundation.

The photos were taken by renowned photojournalist Marcos Moreno, known for is work with the West African immigrants and featured in publications around the world, including The New York Times, Le Figaro, The Times, El Mundo, among many others.

Mr Moreno contacted JM Memorial Foundation trustee and local schoolteacher Mark Montovio after hearing of his involvement with the Cheshire Homes in Tangier in Morocco, and they have worked together to bring this exhibition to light since.

Describing this as a truly humbling experience at the opening of the exhibition on Monday night, Mr Moreno explains how he arrived in a graveyard in the early hours one morning and found families of immigrants sleeping in graves and lying on top of tombs, covered in blankets.

He said: “It was very hard to see and not humane. When you see suffering, you suffer too.”

Mr Montovio said he is no longer sad, but angry and frustrated that this situation continues to happen.

He said: “An exhibition like this, is not only about incredible photographic talent, but there is a total engagement with respect for the person Marcos photographs.

“Photographing people when they are in dire need can be very intrusive, and can be something that can be done in a very negative way, but Marcos manages to engage with the subject in a way that really grabs people’s attention, and most of the people in the pictures don’t feel offended, they feel like they are doing something."

Mr Montovio adds: “The aim of this exhibition is to highlight and raise awareness of what is happening not more than an hour away from Gibraltar, and to understand that the people we see selling watches and jewellery across the border are not here out of choice, but for survival.”

At the launch of the exhibition, caretaker Minister for Culture Steven Linares said there is a very important message for Gibraltar’s youth in the photographs, and that people are going through this not far from Gibraltar, and living like this in the Atlas Mountains which they can see from Europa Point.

The exhibition will be open to the public from 10:00am to 6:00pm Monday to Friday and entrance is free.