Åke Ericson – Beyond Afghanistan – The struggle of the refugees

The photo book Afghani Struggle is a photo-essay about the unaccompanied young refugees from Afghanistan and their struggle to create a life in Sweden.

For two months in the late summer and autumn of 2017, there was a sit-down protest against Sweden’s deportations. Photojournalist Åke Ericson got to know many of those who participated and has since followed the fates of several lives through the asylum process.

Some were granted residence permits, while others had their applications rejected and are in hiding or have fled to other places in Europe, so as to avoid forced deportation to Kabul.

Åke Ericson has followed the young Afghans in their everyday lives after receiving their deportation orders, on the train while fleeing to France and in the tent camps under the bridges of Paris. He has also met many who are locked-up in the Swedish Migration Agency’s detention centre, where they sit, often for many months, waiting to be deported to Afghanistan.

8/11-2017. Stockholm, Sweden.
Led by Fatemeh Khavari, refugees and their supporters have been holding a sit-down strike at Medborgarplatsen in Stockholm, protesting about the deportations to Afghanistan.
Defiant, the youngsters insisted that violence and intimidation would not deter them from their goal of convincing Sweden to halt deportations to Afghanistan, which the youths say is still plagued by violence and insecurity.

8/19-2017. Stockholm, Sweden.
Young in Sweden, a group of Afghan youths, has demonstrated at Medborgarplatsen for almost three weeks.If we are expelled to Afghanistan.Many native Swedish people stand up for their rights in an anti racist demonstration.
Unaccompanied minors are a particularly vulnerable subset of refugees. Several research studies have shown that, psychologically speaking, the stress and challenges associated with travelling and resettling without a parent or trusted adult, lead to higher rates of depression and symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), compared to other refugee and migrant groups. — 8/19-2017. Stockholm, Sweden.
Young in Sweden, a group of Afghan youths, has demonstrated at Medborgarplatsen for almost three weeks.If we are expelled to Afghanistan.
Many native Swedish people stand up for their rights in an anti racist demonstration. Unaccompanied minors are a particularly vulnerable subset of refugees. Several research studies have shown that, psychologically speaking, the stress and challenges associated with travelling and resettling without a parent or trusted adult, lead to higher rates of depression and symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), compared to other refugee and migrant groups.

8/12-2017 Medborgarplatsen,Stockholm, Sweden.
Refugees and their supporters have been holding a sit-down strike in Stockholm for over a month, protesting about the deportations to Afghanistan.Many refugees also slept in the stairs during the nights. Defiant, the youngsters insisted that violence and intimidation would not deter them from their goal of convincing Sweden to halt deportations to Afghanistan, which the youths say is still plagued by violence and insecurity. — 8/12-2017 Medborgarplatsen,Stockholm, Sweden.
Refugees and their supporters have been holding a sit-down strike in Stockholm for over a month, protesting about the deportations to Afghanistan.
Many refugees also slept in the stairs during the nights. Defiant, the youngsters insisted that violence and intimidation would not deter them from their goal of convincing Sweden to halt deportations to Afghanistan, which the youths say is still plagued by violence and insecurity.

8/12-2017 Medborgarplatsen,Stockholm, Sweden.
Demonstration unaccompanied for minors from Afghanistan.Refugees and their supporters have been holding a sit-down strike in Stockholm for over a month, protesting about the deportations to Afghanistan.Many refugees also slept under the open sky during the nights. Defiant, the youngsters insisted that violence and intimidation would not deter them from their goal of convincing Sweden to halt deportations to Afghanistan, which the youths say is still plagued by violence and insecurity. — 8/12-2017 Medborgarplatsen,Stockholm, Sweden.
Demonstration unaccompanied for minors from Afghanistan.
Refugees and their supporters have been holding a sit-down strike in Stockholm for over a month, protesting about the deportations to Afghanistan.Many refugees also slept under the open sky during the nights. Defiant, the youngsters insisted that violence and intimidation would not deter them from their goal of convincing Sweden to halt deportations to Afghanistan, which the youths say is still plagued by violence and insecurity.

8/26-2017. Stockholm, Sweden.
Young in Sweden, a group of Afghan youths, has demonstrated at Medborgarplatsen for almost three weeks.If we are expelled to Afghanistan, we will float in blood shouting the demonstrations.Unaccompanied minors are a particularly vulnerable subset of refugees. Several research studies have shown that, psychologically speaking, the stress and challenges associated with travelling and resettling without a parent or trusted adult, lead to higher rates of depression and symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), compared to other refugee and migrant groups. — 8/26-2017. Stockholm, Sweden.
Young in Sweden, a group of Afghan youths, has demonstrated at Medborgarplatsen for almost three weeks.If we are expelled to Afghanistan, we will float in blood shouting the demonstrations.
Unaccompanied minors are a particularly vulnerable subset of refugees. Several research studies have shown that, psychologically speaking, the stress and challenges associated with travelling and resettling without a parent or trusted adult, lead to higher rates of depression and symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), compared to other refugee and migrant groups.

29/1-2019 Paris, Frankrike.
Under motorvägsbroarna som ligger vid Porte de la Chapelle i utkanten av Paris talas bruten svenska vid tältlägret.
Här bor unga pojkar som i stället för att tvingas till Afghanistan efter ett utvisningsbeslut flytt från Sverige till Frankrike.

29/1-2019 Paris, Frankrike.
Under motorvägsbroarna vid tältlägret som ligger vid Porte de la Chapelle i utkanten av Paris innerstadtalas bruten svenska i tälten i norra Paris.Här bor unga pojkar som i stället för att tvingas till Afghanistan efter ett utvisningsbeslut har fortsatt sin flykt, från Sverige till Frankrike. den franska kravallpolisen gör ständiga tillslag i tältlägret. — 29/1-2019 Paris, Frankrike.
Under motorvägsbroarna vid tältlägret som ligger vid Porte de la Chapelle i utkanten av Paris innerstadtalas bruten svenska i tälten i norra Paris.
Här bor unga pojkar som i stället för att tvingas till Afghanistan efter ett utvisningsbeslut har fortsatt sin flykt, från Sverige till Frankrike. den franska kravallpolisen gör ständiga tillslag i tältlägret.

26/1-2019 Paris, Frankrike.
Under motorvägsbroarna som ligger vid Porte de la Chapelle i utkanten av Paris talas bruten svenska vid tältlägret.Här bor unga pojkar som i stället för att tvingas till Afghanistan efter ett utvisningsbeslut flytt från Sverige till Frankrike. — 26/1-2019 Paris, Frankrike.
Under motorvägsbroarna som ligger vid Porte de la Chapelle i utkanten av Paris talas bruten svenska vid tältlägret.
Här bor unga pojkar som i stället för att tvingas till Afghanistan efter ett utvisningsbeslut flytt från Sverige till Frankrike.

27/1-2019 Paris, Frankrike.
Under motorvägsbroarna vid tältlägret som ligger vid Porte de la Chapelle i utkanten av Paris innerstad talas bruten svenska i tälten i norra Paris. Här bor bland annat Omid 18 år som i stället för att tvingas till Afghanistan efter ett utvisningsbeslut har fortsatt sin flykt, från Sverige till Frankrike. — 27/1-2019 Paris, Frankrike. Under motorvägsbroarna vid tältlägret som ligger vid Porte de la Chapelle i utkanten av Paris innerstad talas bruten svenska i tälten i norra Paris. Här bor bland annat Omid 18 år som i stället för att tvingas till Afghanistan efter ett utvisningsbeslut har fortsatt sin flykt, från Sverige till Frankrike.

9/1/ 2017. Stockholm, Sweden.
Police presence was big when the demonstrating Afghans wandered from Medborgarplatsen to Norra Bantorget. But the march could move completely without violence.
"We have come to a historic place," said initiative leader Fatemeh Kavari in place in front of the Swedish unions hq LO. Hundreds of people participated in Friday's march when the Afghan refugees, who have manifested at Medborgarplatsen for more than three weeks, moved to Norra Bantorget to continue the demonstration there. On their way through central Stockholm, participants called out slogans to protest against decisions about expulsions to Afghanistan. "No border, no nation, stop deportation" sounded one of the many rams that the large group of people scandalized on the way through the city.
Photo: Åke Ericson. — 9/1/ 2017. Stockholm, Sweden. Police presence was big when the demonstrating Afghans wandered from Medborgarplatsen to Norra Bantorget. But the march could move completely without violence. "We have come to a historic place," said initiative leader Fatemeh Kavari in place in front of the Swedish unions hq LO. Hundreds of people participated in Friday's march when the Afghan refugees, who have manifested at Medborgarplatsen for more than three weeks, moved to Norra Bantorget to continue the demonstration there. On their way through central Stockholm, participants called out slogans to protest against decisions about expulsions to Afghanistan. "No border, no nation, stop deportation" sounded one of the many rams that the large group of people scandalized on the way through the city. Photo: Åke Ericson.

9/2/2017. Stockholm, Sweden.
Young people who came to Sweden as unaccompanied refugees are holding a sit-down protest outside where most of the Swedish unions hq are located at Norra Bantorget demanding that the country stops deportations to Afghanistan.
Photo: Åke Ericson. — 9/2/2017. Stockholm, Sweden. Young people who came to Sweden as unaccompanied refugees are holding a sit-down protest outside where most of the Swedish unions hq are located at Norra Bantorget demanding that the country stops deportations to Afghanistan. Photo: Åke Ericson.

Their individual stories are an important part of the story of a society in change, when humanitarian principles were laid aside and Sweden carried out a dramatic tightening of its refugee policy.

For 58 days, in late summer and autumn 2017, unaccompanied young people from Afghanistan are protesting against how they are treated by Swedish authorities. Since the vast majority of them came to the country in the autumn of 2015, Swedish refugee policy has changed and more have been deported. The young Afghans are alleged to be lying about their age, collective mass deportations are becoming more common.

During the 2017 protests, Åke Ericson begins his documentation of the young refugees’ situation. In collaboration with the journalist and author Thord Eriksson, he has visited them in the Migration Board’s detention center, during the continued flight when the hope of a future in Sweden has run out, to the tent cities in the outskirts of Paris where many are forced to seek refugee.

The project has been exhibited in Sweden.

The exhibition in 31 framed pictures:
5 photos: 40x60cm
20 photos: 50x75cm
6 photos: 70×105 cm

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