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)
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)
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)
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)
Morning prayer at Koubri campground. A majority of the refugees are Muslim, although some Eritreans and Ethiopians are Christian. (Photo Credit: Raphaël Krafft)
Not all have a tent to sleep inside at Koubri. Spring has been unseasonably chilly this year in Paris. (Photo Credit: Raphaël Krafft)
Zacharia, who comes from Morroco, has been living in his tent in Koubri for two months. (Photo Credit: Raphaël Krafft)
Ablutions are made with plastic bottles in the Koubri campground before morning prayer. (Photo Credit: Raphaël Krafft)
Abraham is an Eritrean refugee. (Photo Credit: Raphaël Krafft)
A general view of Koubri campground. (Photo Credit: Raphaël Krafft)
Early morning in Koubri campground. (Photo Credit: Raphaël Krafft)
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)
Many volunteers come to give clothes. Two Eritrean refugees try them on. (Photo Credit: Raphaël Krafft)
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)
Morning prayer in Koubri. (Photo Credit: Raphaël Krafft)
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)
