What's On

Storey photography exhibition highlights the plight of thousands trapped in North Africa

A new exhibition of original photography aims to tell the story of the tens of thousands of refugees, asylum seekers and irregular migrants from across Africa trapped in Tunisia.

Four month old, Freedom from Nigeria, photographed in Tunis.

Expats, a photography exhibition of images of irregular migrants in Tunisia will be running at The Storey from 2-7 June

Hundreds of people enter Tunisia every day, many fleeing wars, others the complete break down of law and order, some the collapse of the climate that supported them and their families.

However, after entering Tunisia, thousands become trapped, unable to progress through Europe's fortified border, incapable of returning to the homes they fled and unwelcome within the country where they find themselves.

The Storey's new exhibition, Expats, features portraits of a number of those trapped in Tunisia with each telling a small part of their own story.

Some, speak of being tortured as they crossed Libya, others of being arrested by the Tunisian security services and deposited within the country's unforgiving desert. Many talk of the future and hope of a new life, free from the chaos they fled.

All the pictures were taken by Simon Speakman Cordall, a journalist with Al Jazeera English. He previously worked as a freelance reporter for The Guardian, The Independent, The Economist and Foreign Policy, among others. He lived in Tunisia for almost ten years and before that worked in Russia and Vietnam.

He now lives in Lancaster.

You can find out more about the plight of irregular migrants, asylum seekers and refugees in Tunisia and Libya by visiting the website, Refugees in Libya: https://www.refugeesinlibya.org/