Radu Diaconu

Photographer

Sony World Photo Awards - Shortlisted

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Location: Montreal, Qc, Canada

Nationality: Canada

Biography: Originally from Bucharest, Romania, I immigrated to Canada in 1993, 4 years after the fall of the Ceausescu regime. I pursued my studies in science and humanities throughout high school and went to Concordia University to pursue a degree in... MORE

Nicosia, Cyprus. August 2020. “...d be resettled somewhere else.

1 of 6 © 2024 Radu Diaconu

Nicosia, Cyprus. August 2020. “N”, a migrant from Congo, poses for a portrait in front of one of the UN-Buffer zone walls separating the Republic of Cyprus and the TRNC. The city of Nicosia is the last divided city in Europe, split roughly in the middle by the UN patrolled Buffer Zone. N left Congo in search of better opportunities and the possibility to study in Europe. After arriving in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, a "de-facto" state solely recognized by Turkey, he realized he had been duped by unscrupulous agents in Africa and had no more money to pay for his fees and continue his education. He used whatever money had left to pay coyotes to take him across the border to Cyprus. He spent 4 months in the Pournara Emergency Reception Centre in squalid conditions. He is now waiting for his UNCHR interview in the hopes of being able to work freely and be resettled somewhere else.

Deneia, Cyprus. August 2020. A ...h a village or police station.

2 of 6 © 2024 Radu Diaconu

Deneia, Cyprus. August 2020. A view of the UN buffer zone separating the Republic of Cyprus and the TRNC. This is where most of the migrants cross into the Republic of Cyprus, often at night in a car and then left to walk for miles and miles until they reach a village or police station.

Kokkinotrimithia, Cyprus. April...aner in a cemetery in Nicosia.

3 of 6 © 2024 Radu Diaconu

Kokkinotrimithia, Cyprus. April 2022. Ali, a migrant from Sierra Leone, is resting at home. Having fled Sierra Leone because of family and land problems once his father, a high ranking official in the military, died. He has a 9 year-old boy at home and has now started working as a cleaner in a cemetery in Nicosia.

Kokkinotrimithia, Cyprus. April...e to earn by doing small jobs.

4 of 6 © 2024 Radu Diaconu

Kokkinotrimithia, Cyprus. April 2022. Migrants waiting for the camp to hand out food before sunset. Migrants often complain that the food is not suited to their diet as they don’t eat this kind of food and a lot of them end up trying to cook their own food in the camp with whatever money they have left or are able to earn by doing small jobs.

Nicosia, Cyprus, May 10th, 2022...g conditions are not adequate.

5 of 6 © 2024 Radu Diaconu

Nicosia, Cyprus, May 10th, 2022. Paul, a migrant from Nigeria, poses for a portrait inside the limited space offered by his bedroom, which is the size of closet. He lives inside this tiny room while doing odd jobs until his asylum interview with UNHCR. Migrants often live in very difficult conditions inside cramped and old apartments that are inadequate. Landlords use the fact that the government pays 100 Euros as rent supplement to rent any place that they have available, even if the living conditions are not adequate.

Nicosia, Cyprus. May 2022. The ...their asylum claims processed.

6 of 6 © 2024 Radu Diaconu

Nicosia, Cyprus. May 2022. The Old City of Nicosia is thousands of years old and went through several conquests by the Arabs, Franks, Venetians, Ottomans, and British, all leading up to the war of 1974 with Turkey which effectively split the nation-island into two states, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and the Republic of Cyprus (RoC), an EU member. The TRNC is a de-facto state only recognized by Turkey. This has created a series of crossings around the island where people must present their papers before going in and out of the TRNC. This situation has enabled the recent surge of migrants and fueled the migrant crisis as those arriving in the TRNC understand they are not in Europe and make their way to the RoC to have their asylum claims processed.

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Events News

Sony World Photo Awards - Shortlisted

radu diaconu

Mar 4, 2023

Location: Nicosia, Cyprus

Summary

Hi! I hope everyone is doing well :)

Just wanted to announce that I'm very proud to have my work shortlisted at the @worldphotoorg among so many talented and hard-working photographers.

I hope that my work can continue to be seen and shared so that the world and the people of #Cyprus can know what's going on there.

Thanks again to @athena_tacet for her support as well as @stefano_de_luigi for always answering my questions and being there for me, thanks.

https://www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-galleries/2023/professional/reunification-radu-diaconu

Very proud to have my work shortlisted at the @worldphotoorg among so many talented and hard-working photographers.

I hope that my work can continue to be seen and shared so that the world and the people of #Cyprus can know what's going on there.

Thanks again to @athena_tacet for her support as well as @stefano_de_luigi for always answering my questions and being there for me, thanks.

https://www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-galleries/2023/professional/reunification-radu-diaconu

#UNHCR, #UN, #EU, #middleeast, #Asia, #Europe, #Refugees, #Africa, #Migrants #Sony

R_EU_nification by Radu Diaconu
Worldphoto.org

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Also by Radu Diaconu —

Lucie Foundation Scholarship Winner

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Nov 6, 2022

Ephemera

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Oct 9, 2020

The Aftermath Grant

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Jun 23, 2020

Society Magazine

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Nov 16, 2019

TAZ photo project Europe

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May 16, 2019

Noir Bangkok published in Dodho

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Oct 18, 2018

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