Mayotte, 101st french departement, an island lost in the middle of the Indian Ocean, is located 70 km from Comoros, one of the poorest countries in the world. Each year, thousands of women, mens and childrens attempt to cross the sea in small, crowded fishing boats, a 12-hour crossing during which they will risk their lives in the hope of a better future. Indeed, Mayotte and its famous lagoon surrounded by a blue turquoise sea has become one of the largest marine cemeteries in the world (several thousand deaths per year). Mayotte is one of the four islands of the Comoros archipelago, the only one of this former colony to have chosen to remain French after the independence in 1974. Over the years, the gap has widened between Comoros and Mayotte. Fleeing misery, comorian migrants come to this small part of France to find the essentials for themselves and their children: medical care, work and access to school for childrens. With 20,000 expulsions per year, Mayotte overtook the total number of expulsion of the entire metropolitan area. This series of portraits aims to "give a face" to theses migrants who suffer in silence away from the spotlights.
Graduated with a master's degree in geopolitics, Aude Osnowycz worked in various professions before turning to photography. In 2011, she decided to become a photojournalist and spent four years documenting the impacts of the Arab Spring in the Maghreb and the Middle East for various French and foreign magazines. She recently started a long-term project on post soviet countries, a more artistic and more intimate work, questioning both the Slavic soul and her family past. Ouvrir dans Google Traduction Com
