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.
![01. Wachten Familie Shabb](https://www.monavandenberg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/01.-Wachten-Familie-Shabb-3-751x500.jpg)
![02. Wachten Abel](https://www.monavandenberg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/02.-Wachten-Abel-1-751x500.jpg)
![03. Wachten Merih](https://www.monavandenberg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/03.-Wachten-Merih-1-751x500.jpg)
![04. Wachten Yevhen](https://www.monavandenberg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/04.-Wachten-Yevhen-1-751x500.jpg)
![05. Wachten Ali](https://www.monavandenberg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/05.-Wachten-Ali-1-751x500.jpg)
![06. Wachten Base en Mevan](https://www.monavandenberg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/06.-Wachten-Base-en-Mevan-1-751x500.jpg)
![07. Wachten Freddy](https://www.monavandenberg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/07.-Wachten-Freddy-1-751x500.jpg)
![08. Wachten Jalal](https://www.monavandenberg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/08.-Wachten-Jalal-1-751x500.jpg)
![08a. Wachten Ghiti](https://www.monavandenberg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/08a.-Wachten-Ghiti-1-751x500.jpg)
![09. Wachten Sunny Boy](https://www.monavandenberg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/09.-Wachten-Sunny-Boy-1-751x500.jpg)
![9a. Wachten Reema](https://www.monavandenberg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/9a.-Wachten-Reema-1-751x500.jpg)
![10. Wachten kinderen van Meron](https://www.monavandenberg.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/10.-Wachten-kinderen-van-Meron-1-751x500.jpg)