Here's another story orignally published on our webstie.
This series is a photographic record of people who strive to live a life of freedom, but who are currently in a statelessness chapter of time in their lives. They can only recall memories of when things were good in their homeland and how life use to be, before they became targets of persecution.
Cities and towns across the world have become home to millions of people trying to escape violence and persecution. People are targeted for their religious beliefs, social status, race, gender, nationality, and ongoing conflict. In the city of Bangkok, the ongoing surge of asylumseekers has increased significantly in the last few years. Most people have to wait three years or more for their application interview and most likely it will be pushed ahead a number of times and then they may have to wait up to 12 months after that to be resettled in a different country.
After tourist visas expire, most individuals are not prepared for the long grim process of dealing with the challenging conditions, little financial or medical support, uncertainty, and day to day fear of being discovered. Furthermore, urban asylumseekers may have more freedom than those in camps, but they are more exposed and vulnerable to arrest and imprisonment. Many people are forced to live together in a small one room apartment, sharing a mattress and using a propane burner to cook whatever food they have.
The idea of stepping out from the shadows and entering into the light of day without fear becomes almost an unrealistic hope for many people who are seeking asylum in Bangkok.
Brian Driscoll is a documentary photographer from New York, USA. He is a graduate of the documentary and photojournalism program at The International Center of Photography, where he was a recipient of the Director’s Fellowship and most recently the Rita K. Hillman Foundation Fellowship. His work has been exhibited at festivals and galleries nationally and internationally such as powerHouse arena in Brooklyn and the Multimedia Art Museum in Moscow, Russia - http://brianjdriscoll.com/
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