They first appear as small, undefinable spots on the horizon. Nobody knows exactly when and where they will appear — but what IS certain is that they keep coming. Several dozen times a day.

Within an hour, usually, those spots begin to come into focus. Those spots are humans. Fifty heads – side by side. Fifty stories, tragedies and dreams clustered in small black rubber dinghies, which set sail from the Turkish coast towards Europe. They escape from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, fleeing war, fear and poverty. For some, these couple of kilometers of the Aegean Sea will be the most expensive journey of their lives.

They don’t carry much with them – as much as you can put in a rucksack or bag. On the shores of the Greek island Lesvos, nobody waits for these people — apart from a dozen volunteers and several photographers. Many people see this first contact with Europe as a rebirth. They rejoice in the help that they receive in the beginning of a new, better life.
But maybe they don’t think about the real journey, which is just beginning. A journey in which their identities, their reasons for escaping, once again become a blur.

For at least several weeks, these people will become a shapeless migration mass, associated by EU countries with “imposed quota policies”, a dangerous, foreign wave of immigrants flooding Europe. They will face weeks of waiting, arduous journeys on foot, by train, bus. They will experience bleak conditions, uncertainty, humiliation and pain.

But their persistence will endure. Hope and faith for a new life in the Promised Land is stronger than the grief over what they left behind.

The most popular destination of this exhaustive journey is Germany, a country which did not limit the number of refugees crossing its borders.

I want to document this odyssey with the hope that, in the end, these refugees will find their efforts and sacrifices are rewarded by the knowledge that human rights are dispensed equally.

This is an ongoing project.

Refugee Crisis (ongoing project).

Young people rest on the coast of the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey in an overcrowded dinghy on September 24, 2015. According to UNHCR about one million refugees and migrants came to Europe by sea and 80 per cent of those came via the Aegean Sea from Turkey into Greece. [READ MORE]^{$('#captionMore614ab7b5683a8').tipsy({html:true, fallback:
"Most of them flee conflict in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. ", maxWidth: '500px', fontSize: '12px', delayIn: 500, delayOut: 3000});}

Refugees reach the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing through Aegean Sea from Turkey in dinghies on September 24, 2015. According to UNHCR about one million refugees and migrants came to Europe by sea and 80 per cent of those came via the Aegean Sea from Turkey into Greece. Most of them flee conflict in [READ MORE]^{$('#captionMore614ab7b56843f').tipsy({html:true, fallback:
"Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.", maxWidth: '500px', fontSize: '12px', delayIn: 500, delayOut: 3000});}

Two families rest on the coast of the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey in an overcrowded dinghy on September 23, 2015. According to UNHCR about one million refugees and migrants came to Europe by sea and 80 per cent of those came via the Aegean Sea from Turkey into Greece. [READ MORE]^{$('#captionMore614ab7b5684c0').tipsy({html:true, fallback:
"Most of them flee conflict in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. ", maxWidth: '500px', fontSize: '12px', delayIn: 500, delayOut: 3000});}

Family and volunteers surround a refugee who collapsed on a beach after arriving in an overcrowded dinghy on the Greek island of Lesbos from Turkey on September 24, 2015.

Refugees leave a dinghy on the coast of Greek island of Lesbos on September 23, 2015. According to UNHCR about one million refugees and migrants came to Europe by sea and 80 per cent of those came via the Aegean Sea from Turkey into Greece. Most of them flee conflict in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

A man hugs his baby after landing on the Greek island of Lesbos on September 22, 2015.

A man relaxes in the Aegean Sea at the coast of Lesbos after crossing from Turkey to Greece in an overcrowded dinghy on September 24, 2015. According to UNHCR about one million refugees and migrants came to Europe by sea and 80 per cent of those came via the Aegean Sea from Turkey into Greece. Most of them [READ MORE]^{$('#captionMore614ab7b56868d').tipsy({html:true, fallback:
"flee conflict in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.", maxWidth: '500px', fontSize: '12px', delayIn: 500, delayOut: 3000});}

Two young men talk on the phone at the coast of Lesbos, Greece after crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey in an overcrowded dinghy on September 23, 2015. According to UNHCR about one million refugees and migrants came to Europe by sea and 80 per cent of those came via the Aegean Sea from Turkey into Greece. [READ MORE]^{$('#captionMore614ab7b5686f7').tipsy({html:true, fallback:
"Most of them flee conflict in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. ", maxWidth: '500px', fontSize: '12px', delayIn: 500, delayOut: 3000});}

Refugees walk toward Eftalou, a village on the Greek island of Lesbosm after reaching the coast in an overcrowded dinghy on September 23, 2015.

Refugees relax on the coast of Greek island of Lesbos in the village of Eftalou on September 24, 2015.

Iranian bill sinks in the waters of Aegean Sea on the coast of Greek island of Lesbos on September 2015.

Refugees wait in a queue for a bus organized by the local NGOs to go toward registration camp near Mytilene on September 23, 2015

A family sit on a bus to registration camp near Mytilene on September 23, 2015

Fence of the registration camp in Moria near Mytilene on the Greek island of Lesbos on September 24, 2015.

Refugees charge their phone in the registration camp in Moria near Mytilene on the Greek island of Lesbos on September 25, 2015.

Refugees wait overnight to buy ferry tickets to Athens in front of a travel office in the Port of Mytilene on the Greek island of Lesbos on September 24, 2015.

Thousands of refugees board two night ferries toward Athens at the Port of Mytilene on the Greek island of Lesbos on September 24, 2015.

Refugees sleep in the Port of Mytilene on the Greek island of Lesbos on September 25, 2015. All refugees coming to Lesbos wait here to buy ferry tickets to Athens after they register in one of the temporary camps on the island.

A landscape near Serbia-Macedonia border on October 6, 2015.

Refugees wait in a long queue for a bus in Miratovac on Serbia-Macedonia border on October 7, 2015. All refugees crossing the Serbia-Macedonia border must register in the camp in Presevo.

Refugees board a bus in Miratovac on Serbia-Macedonia border on October 7, 2015.

A group of refugees wait in line after registration in the refugee camp in Opatovac, Croatia on September 24, 2015.

A man holds his baby in the refugee camp in Opatovac, Croatia on September 24, 2015.

Refugees wait under a plastic cover in a heavy rain to register in Presevo, Serbia on October 7, 2015. All refugees crossing the Serbia-Macedonia border must register in the camp in Presevo. According to UNHCR about one million refugees and migrants came to Europe by sea and 80 per cent of those came via [READ MORE]^{$('#captionMore614ab7b568fd7').tipsy({html:true, fallback:
"the Aegean Sea from Turkey into Greece. Most of them flee conflict in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. The latest figures show that the Western Balkans route is by far the most used gateway into Europe.", maxWidth: '500px', fontSize: '12px', delayIn: 500, delayOut: 3000});}

Two Syrian families hide from a heavy rain in Presevo, Serbia on October 7, 2015. All refugees crossing the Serbia-Macedonia border must register in the camp in Presevo.

A refugee prays near the Serbia-Croatia border crossing near the village of Berkasovo, Serbia on October 5, 2015.

A group of refugees wait to cross a border line between Serbia and Croatia, near the village of Berkasovo, Serbia on October 5, 2015.

Police officers wait near the train station in Sentilj, Slovenia on November 3, 2015. Nearly 150,000 people have entered Slovenia since mid-October when the Hungary closed the border with Croatia.

Refugees assisted by police leave the train station in Sentilj, Slovenia near Slovenian-Austrian on November 3, 2015. Nearly 150,000 people have entered Slovenia since mid-October when the Hungary closed the border with Croatia.

Refugees wait to enter a registration camp in Sentilj, Slovenia near Slovenian-Austrian on November 3, 2015. Nearly 150,000 people have entered Slovenia since mid-October when the Hungary closed the border with Croatia.

Refugees make a fire while waiting to be allowed to go into Austria at the Slovenian-Austrian border in Sentilj, Slovenia on November 2, 2015. Nearly 150,000 people have entered Slovenia since mid-October when the Hungary closed the border with Croatia.

An early morning landscape of Slovenian-Austrian border in Sentilj, Slovenia on November 3, 2015. Nearly 150,000 people have entered Slovenia since mid-October when the Hungary closed the border with Croatia.