Alixandra Fazzina followed the desperate exodus of Somalis fleeing
violence in their country, plagued by a ferocious civil war now in its
seventeenth year. In a country with the longest coast line in Africa and
hemmed in by conflict, one of the only means of escape is by sea.
? Capturing their voyage from both sides of the water, she has
followed the established smuggling routes from southern Somalia to
the migrants? subsequent fate as they arrive in Yemen and continue
their onward journey in search of a better life.
? Life in this volatile region is so cheap that people are willing to risk
everything for just $50- or one million Somali Shillings.
? Risking rape, robbery, murder or drowning at the hands of the
militia and people traffickers, the refugees have just a one in twenty
chance of arriving on the shores of Yemen alive.
? Despite the risks, tens of thousands of Somalis take their chances,
rather than stare death in the face at home.
Alixandra first studied Fine Art at Bristol University, then became a
war artist with the Ministry of Defence. As a freelance photographer
she has been working for the past seven years in Africa and the
Middle East, working closely with the UNHCR. She won the 2008 Vic
Odden award from the Royal Photographic Society, and was a finalist
at the 2008 CARE award for humanitarian photography.
