Go For Chance

As he does every afternoon, Mohammed, a 17-year-old Sudanese boy, takes the bus to the Eurotunnel area. "I go for chance" is the expression exiles use when they roam the parking lots, looking for a vehicle to cross the strait.

For nearly 20 years, people have been arriving in Calais, mainly from Africa and the Middle East, attempting to cross into England illegally. Often rejected for asylum, this is their last hope to start a new life. While the number of exiles in Calais has significantly decreased since the dismantling of the "large jungle" in 2016 (currently estimated between 800 and 1,500 people), city and state policies have become more repressive. To make their settlement as difficult as possible, camps are raided by law enforcement every 48 hours, then cleared and fenced off.

The lives of these exiles are shaped by visits from humanitarian organizations, evictions, and desperate attempts to reach England. For them, Calais is the last stop on a long journey that seems never to end.

Calais, March 2020 – November 2021                                                                         The names marked with * have been changed.