Final Major Project “Displacement”

The Basis

With Bulgaria’s continuously shrinking population combined with increasing numbers of economic migrants, walking around the city of Sofia gives one an intense feeling of displacement and isolation. I travelled to Sofia to find out more about the refugee crisis and to visit a charity football match organised by a close friend. My project aimed to explore and communicate the lives of the migrants living in the city and their feeling of dislocation.

The charity was set up in 2016 at the time of the Aleppo Crisis. It is a non-profit, student led organisation. So many citizens were killed and had to flee the country for their own safety. Many scattered and found their way to Greece and Turkey, as well as Bulgaria. The first year of the charity was spent providing aid to the three camps in Sofia, donating clothes and provisions where they could. The following years have been focused on integrating refugees into the Bulgarian society as unfortunately there is a huge divide between the refugees and Bulgarians. Events are held now and again such as organised trips out of the city as well as fundraisers such as the football tournament in question.