Berlin

HUMANS OF LAGESO

Please find more photos and the individual stories of the people portrayed here: Humans of Lageso Blog

Berlin, 2015.

‘Lageso’ is short for “Landesamt für Gesundheit und Soziales” – located in Berlin-Moabit, it is the first contact point for newly arrived refugees where they can officially apply for asylum. Due to understaffing, people wait for days to get processed, mostly left to fend for themselves with no food, shelter or medical care provided. The privately organized initiative “Moabit hilft” stepped in and is providing the basic care these refugees are lacking on the Lageso property.

Through this project I am trying to raise awareness for millions of people who have been forced to leave their countries in search for a safe and better future.

Once they are in the system of immigration bureaucracy, they simply become a number. The aim of the photographs is to give faces, names and a voice to the individuals comprising the masses of people simply categorized as „refugees“ by the media. I let them tell me their individual stories, share their hopes and dreams and I feel a responsibility to share these to raise awareness of the human condition around us.

The Lageso is a representation of all the other immigration offices in Germany which have become beacons of hope and new beginnings for the individuals and families striving for a safe and peaceful future.

Please find the German version for some of the stories here on Spiegel Online.