The International Committee of the Red Cross, the Pour Que l’Esprit Vive association and the Galerie Fait & Cause present the exhibition Paths of Desperate Hope by photojournalist Federico Ríos Escobar, 2023 winner of the ICRC Humanitarian Visa d’Or.
The ICRC Humanitarian Visa d’Or was unanimously awarded to Federico Rios Escobar, a Colombian freelance photographer for numerous international media. Produced between September 2022 and March 2023, his work powerfully illustrates the living conditions of migrants attempting to cross the Darién region, which connects South America to North America.
The very dense jungle of the Darién Passage, straddling the border of Colombia and Panama, is becoming more and more a place of transit for tens of thousands of people every day. The number of migrants crossing into Panama through the perilous and dangerous Darién jungle hit a record high in 2022, nearly doubling the previous year’s figures, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). According to the Panamanian government, nearly 250,000 migrants and refugees crossed the country in 2022, compared to some 133,000 in 2021.
“This award is recognition of my work. I am very happy and proud that my photos are able to bear witness to the tragedies taking place in this region, Darién, where thousands of migrants risk crossing the jungle every year. This recognition is very important for a photographer. It helps to make these images even more visible. These stories that we tell must invite discussion and reflection. This is what we, photojournalists who work on humanitarian subjects, seek, to face decision-makers and governments to their responsibilities. Let them put in place concrete measures to help all these people.”
Federico Rios Escobar
Created in 2011, in partnership with the Visa pour l’Image Festival in Perpignan, The ICRC Humanitarian Visa d’Or is a photojournalism prize worth 8,000 euros.
Each year, it rewards a professional photojournalist who has covered a humanitarian problem linked to an armed conflict or another situation of violence.
In 2023, the theme was “displaced people, refugees and migrants”.
Federico Ríos Escobar : Le Chemin de la Dernière Chance
Until Saturday January 27, 2024Galerie Fait & Cause
58, rue Quincampoix
75004 Paris
Tél : 01 42 74 26 36
www.sophot.org
Wednesday to Saturday from 1:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. FREE ENTRANCE
Closed between Christmas and New Year
