Private Story
Imose (ongoing)
Migration is the movement of persons from their place of origin either permanently or temporarily. Migration promotes human development and integration when it is done orderly, when it is done irregularly, it leads to exploitation. Migration allows us to move from place to place in search of comfort, security and survival.
As of the year 2020, there are 281 million international migrants in the world, 65% of migrants are from economically viable countries. Economy drives migration, it is a major push factor amongst other factors like insecurity, drought, famine, that pushes a migrant to leave his/her country for greener pastures. 63% of migrants are from sub saharan african countries. 548 billion dollars have been moved globally by migrants sending money home, amongst other remittances like cars, clothes, electronics, etc. Regular migration occurs when movement of persons is in compliance with the laws of countries of origin, transit and destination, when it is not in compliance, it is irregular migration, with human trafficking and smuggling as its key feature.
The media has downplayed the reality and experience of migrants, it is beyond migrants struggling for their lives to make it to Europe on a rubber boat on the mediterranean sea, it is beyond the tradables and also migrants seeking asylum or being refugees. It is not true that many Nigerian migrants who wanted to go to Europe make it to their destination countries, a lot migrants die on the journey through the desert, some are trapped as labourers in african border countries to europe like Libya, Morocco, Senegal, where the mediterranean sea and rubber boat with 150 migrants is what determines their greener pasture. The popular narrative is usually concerned about depicting migrants as criminals, forgetting about the dignity and diversity of migrants. At age 28, Imose was introduced and consented like majority of other female and male in benin city, Edo state, Nigeria to embark on the journey to europe, her destination country was spain, she believed spain had more prospects for her future than italy or any other european country.
Imose made a few attempts to cross the mediterranean sea to Spain but it was aborted when she realised the universe was not in alignment with that decision. I hope this narrative sheds more light on the concept of irregular migration in Nigeria and the African continent through the experience of Imose. This project is an attempt to describe a migrant through the human side of her experience with several of my photos focusing on Imose whose identity is protected.
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