Wachten/ Waiting

Once again, thousands of refugees are waiting for a long time for their asylum applications to be processed. During the asylum procedure, which can take years, refugees cannot see their families, they only have access to a sober form of shelter and very limited possibilities for daytime activities. 'I've been waiting in an open prison for years. . But even worse. In a prison you know when the end is near, not here,' says Ribal, who has been in an asylum seekers' centre with his children for four years. Or Mohammed, whom I met in Den Helder: 'I often feel like a ghost when I walk on the street. Invisible to the outside world. My dreams are on hold, I'm just waiting.' No abstract figures about refugees, but faces in a book. To make visible what waiting and living in uncertainty for years does to a person. Because people in asylum seekers' centres are often hidden as far away from civilization as possible. The series was created with the support of the Fund for Special Journalistic Projects.

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