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28 images Created 15 May 2018

Crossing Lines

While most international borders are constructs of the human imagination and are invisible from space, their impact on earth is very real. For climate refugees, for those fleeing conflict or persecution, for economic refugees from failed states, borders are often a significant hurdle in the journey for survival or the search for a better life. They can even be the demarcation between life and death.
 
Some borders seem to be dissolving : corporations are multinational, trade is global, communication technology is shrinking relative distances, more and more people share a common language and travel the globe, races and cultures are mixing. However, nation-states make their own rules and can generate opposition to these phenomena. Nationalist and ultranationalist movements, racism and even ethnic cleansing strive to counter globalization. Are these the death rattles of an antiquated system or the reassertion of a necessary and unalienable power structure?
 
Having often been drawn by forces that we now consider criminal - colonialism in Africa and Asia or the genocide of native peoples of North America, for example - many borders seem hard to justify morally. What right did colonists have to take another people’s land? What right do they have to refuse entry to the land their ancestors took at gunpoint?

How do we understand the tension between human rights and national sovereignty? Does a nation have rights, just as an individual does? Who has the right to refuse another person in need, a victim? What are the rights of non-citizens? What is the relationship between international law and the laws of sovereign nations? How do victims of human rights violations seek justice beyond their own borders? These questions will become more pressing in the current context of climate change, globalization, the sharp division between rich and poor, and a growing refugee crisis, problems that by definition transcend national borders.
 
In her final reflections on documentary photography, Susan Sontag wrote: « What is called collective memory is not a remembering but a stipulating: that this is important, and this is the story about how it happened, with the pictures that lock the story in our minds. » Photographers Darren Ell and Roger LeMoyne have spent many years on the front lines of the struggle between individual rights, the individual’s will to survive and the powers of nation-states. Each photographer has a distinct approach to their subject matter but the concerns that fuel their work bind the two separate visions into a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. By combining their various bodies of work, the photographers raise important questions and illuminate some of the key issues that must be understood and debated as we navigate the current refugee crisis.
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  • Intro.jpg
  • A Rohingya refugee carries an elderly refugee on his shoulders on the berm of a rice paddy. Before entering Bangladesh proper, Rohingya refugees who had crossed the Naf river the night before made their way through "no man's land" to the 0 point of the border. Palongkhali, Anjuman Para on the Bangladesh/Myanmar border. November, 2017. Photo by Roger LeMoyne.
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  • On the 16th of October, thousands (estimates of 10,000 or more) of Rohingya, including many children and elderly people, crossed a small river from Myanmar and made their way through rice paddies toward the village of Palangkhali a distance of +/- 5 km in extreme heat. The Bangladesh border guards would not allow the refugees to enter the village and at the time of this captioning the X thousand Rohingya were waiting for access to dry land in rice paddies near Palangkhali wtih driving tropical rain coming at night. Palongkhali, Anjuman Para on the Bangladesh/Myanmar border. Photo by Roger LeMoyne.
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  • Jinnat Ara Begum,12, sleeps on the family's baggage in a rice paddy in the late afternoon sun, exhausted by her journey across the Naf river the night before with approximately 3,000 other refugees. The journey of the Rohingya refugee pushes everyone to the limits of their endurance. Movement is often made at night, even small children must walk for hours, somtimes carrying baggage or younger siblings. Palongkhali Anjuman Para, Bangladesh, November 2017. Photo by Roger LeMoyne.
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  • A vista of Balukhali 2 camp intended to show the overcrowded, generally unwholesome and sometimes surreal environment of the camps. Many of the refugees have built shelters on precarious mounds of soft ground surrounded by stagnant ponds.The effects on the health and psychology as well as the security of children is hard to measure, but it must surely have a negative impact. Cox’s Bazar district, Bangladesh, October 23, 2017. Photo by Roger LeMoyne.
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  • March 18, 2018 - Ocotillo, California - Designed to stop illegal vehicle crossings, the "Normandy" barrier is made of recycled railway tracks and extends from Calexico to the Jacumba wilderness.
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  • December 5, 2018 – Tijuana : Asylum seekers from Central America scramble for food, clothing and diapers distributed by a San Diego-based non-profit, the Coalición de Hondureños en el exterior.
    HRM_Ell_LeMoyne_06.JPG
  • When the US began building walls and increasing security on the US border in 1994, migrants took greater risks, crossing deserts and mountains. Estimates of the number who died in these extreme weather regions range from 6,000 to 10,000. The remains of hundreds of migrants are buried in a small cemetery in Holtville, California. March, 2018. Photo by Darren Ell.
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  • November 21, 2019 - Matamoros, Mexico : Carla* stated that her father began receiving death threats in Nicaragua when he assisted with the organizing of mass protests against the Ortega Government in 2018. Two months later, as the family was celebrating Father's Day, masked men arrived at his home and shot him in the back, then in the head, and wounded several other family members. The family lived in terror over the next year as agents continually threatened them. Carla and her husband arranged to pay a smuggler $11,000 US and began a harrowing voyage through Central America and Mexico to claim asylum in the US for themselves and their young son. The rest of her extended family has fled to other countries. Carla has been too afraid to make contact with them. A 2019 report by Doctors Without Borders stated that more than two-thirds of migrants fleeing neigboring Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador left their home countries after a family member was murdered, disappeared or kidnapped.<br />
(* Fictitious name)
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  • The 9-meter-high concrete and steel prototypes for Donald Trump’s proposed border wall were set up just metres north of an impoverished neighbourhood in Tijuana, Mexico. They were tested by US Special Forces for their ability to prevent breaching, digging and climbing. San Ysidro, California, March, 2018. Photo by Darren Ell.
    HRM_Ell_LeMoyne_09.jpg
  • A young mother from Syria holds her child after disembarking on the shore of Lesbos. The baby is swaddled in a thermal blanket that was given out by aid workers.  In 2015, thousands of refugees from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries moved through Turkey to Europe, landing in small boats on the Greek islands. Lesbos is one of the closest to Turkey. Lesbos, Greece, November, 2015. Photo by Roger LeMoyne.
    HRM_Ell_LeMoyne_10.jpg
  • Migrants and refugees wait to board a ferry that will take them from Mytilini on the island of Lesbos for onward travel to Athens. Thousands of refugees from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries moved through Turkey to Europe, landing in small boats on the Greek islands. Lesbos is one of the closest to Turkey. November, 2015. Photo by Roger LeMoyne.
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  • Refugees cross from Greece into Macedonia at Eidomeni, Greece. In the foreground are Macedonian border guards. Eidomeni is a small town on the border with Macedonia. In November 2015 there was a large camp managed by UNHCR that acted as reception centre and border crossing point for migrants travelling onward toward northern Europe. Eidomeni, Greece, November, 2015. Photo by Roger LeMoyne.
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  • Hundreds of migrants and refugees wait to be admitted to the Moria transit camp, where they would be registered and receive some new documentation and tickets for onward travel. Moria, Lesbos, Greece, November, 2015. Photo by Roger LeMoyne.
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  • Tents set up by refugees primarily from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan on agricultural land on the Macedonian border. In March 2016, borders in Europe were closing and thousands of refugees were living in makeshift refugees camps, gas stations and abandoned homes hear the Macedonian border. Eidomeni, Greece, March, 2016. Photo by Darren Ell.
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  • An abandoned sleeping bag lies in a forest by the Macedonian border. In March 2016, borders in Europe were closing and thousands of refugees were living in makeshift refugees camps, gas stations and abandoned homes hear the Macedonian border. Evzonoi, Greece, March, 2016. Photo by Darren Ell.
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  • Tens of thousands of lifejackets abandoned by refugees fleeing wars in the Middle East and beyond lie in gigantic piles in the landfill just outside the city of Molyvos on the island of Lesbos, Greece, where the largest single group of refugees landed in 2015 and 2016. Lesbos, Greece, March, 2016. Photo by Darren Ell.
    HRM_Ell_LeMoyne_16.jpg
  • In Melinda's own words: "I couldn’t have survived without Allah. I converted to Islam when I married an Algerian man nineteen years ago. Over time, he became violent, beating me often. I was hospitalized with head trauma after a severe beating. I’ve had health problems ever since. I was insulted in the streets for wearing a hijab. I couldn’t wear it at work. Boys at school insulted my daughter, calling her an Arab and a Gypsy. She was hospitalized with a broken nose and head injuries after being beaten by five boys. Neither the school nor the police helped us. I decided to leave Hungary with my children. Soon I find out if my refugee claim has been accepted. I’m afraid, but at least for two years we have experienced peace."<br />
<br />
Montreal, 2014. Photo by Darren Ell in collaboration with Philippe Montbazet.
    HRM_Ell_LeMoyne_17.jpg
  • In Mavis' own words: "In my native village in Cameroon, women are treated like objects. Female genital mutilation is still practiced. It causes horrible diseases, miscarriages and sometimes even death. Two of my family members died this way. I rebelled against this tradition and made a documentary film on the subject. The authorities said it was not appropriate for a woman to do such a thing. My mother and I were banished from the village. We feared for our safety. I moved, then when I had enough money, I left Cameroon. When I arrived in Canada in 2010, fear haunted me. I was constantly looking over my shoulder. Now, I’m okay. I’m happy to live in a country where when a woman says no, it’s no. I hope to some day sponsor my mother."<br />
<br />
Montreal, 2014. Photo by Darren Ell in collaboration with Philippe Montbazet.
    HRM_Ell_LeMoyne_18.jpg
  • In Salvador's own words: "I worked 14 years as a manager for General Motors in Mexico. In  2008, when I requested that two irresponsible employees be let go, my life changed dramatically. The men began threatening me and my wife. They even came to our house and physically threatened both of us. The company symathized but said they could do nothing. We had to change cities, but they followed us there. Then they killed my wife’s brother-in-law. We had a young boy. My wife couldn’t take it anymore. I came to Canada and requested political asylum. My wife and son came three months later. Life can change so quickly. I never imagined I would become a refugee."<br />
<br />
Montreal, 2014. Photo by Darren Ell in collaboration with Philippe Montbazet.
    HRM_Ell_LeMoyne_19.jpg
  • Irma Yolanda Choc Cac is photographed outside her home in the new settlement of Lote Ocho. Guatemala, May 2014. Photo by Roger LeMoyne.
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  • The nickel processing plant for the Fenix mine project is seen from the road leading to narby El Estor. The plant was a hive of activity as it is thought that it will soon begin processing ore after years of inactivity. Guatemala, May 2014. Photo by Roger LeMoyne.
    HRM_Ell_LeMoyne_22.jpg
  • Plaintiffs in the Hudbay case (L to R)  Lucia Caal Chun, Amalia Cac Tiul, Carmelina Caal Ical and Olivia Asig Xol are photographed in a stream in the new selttlement of LOte Ocho. Guatemala, May 2014. Photo by Roger LeMoyne.
    HRM_Ell_LeMoyne_22.jpg
  • A migrant mother from Yemen leads her family across the Canadian border on Roxham Road, fearful of the implications of the Trump Administration’s proposed ban on immigrants from Muslim majority countries. Saudi Arabia’s war with Yemen has left over 10,000 dead, 1 million stricken with cholera, and a large percentage of the population facing famine. Roxham Road, Quebec, March, 2017. Photo by Darren Ell.
    HRM_Ell_LeMoyne_23.jpg
  • Their hands raised in the air to indicate they do not represent a danger, migrants from Djibouti and Somalia make an illegal entry into Canada, fearful of the implications of the Trump Administration’s proposed ban on immigrants from Muslim majority countries Emerson, Manitoba, March, 2017. Photo by Darren Ell.
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  • A man from Yemen is arrested by the RCMP moments after he crossed from the USA to Roxham Road, Quebec. June, 2017. Photo by Roger LeMoyne.
    HRM_Ell_LeMoyne_25.jpg
  • Haitian migrants are arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as they cross the border from the US at Roxham road, Quebec. Once registered, they are moved in a paddy wagon to St-Bernard de Lacolle, the official border post a few kilometers away, and then enter the refugee claimant process. Roxham Road, Quebec, July 2017. Photo by Roger LeMoyne.
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  • A man's suit hangs in a field meters from the US-Canada border at the height of the 2017 migration of US asylum seekers fleeing to Canada. Roxham road, New York, August, 2017. Photo by Darren Ell.
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