Deneia, Cyprus. August 2020. A view of the UN buffer zone separating the Republic of Cyprus and the TRNC. This is where most of the migrants cross into the Republic of Cyprus, often at night in a car and then left to walk for miles and miles until they reach a village or police station.

Nicosia, Cyprus, August 2020. “O”, a migrant from the DRC, shows the thumb of his hand which was cut when the military came for his family. He managed to flee but his mother and father were killed that night. He made his way to a family friend who paid for him to get to the TRNC. Once there, with whatever little money he had left, he made his way to the Republic of Cyprus, crossing the Buffer zone, and applied for asylum. He spent months in the Pournara Emergency Reception Centre in squalid conditions, beaten and tear-gazed by the police. He is now waiting for his UNHCR interview in the hopes of being able to work freely and be resettled somewhere else.

Akaki, Cyprus. August 2020. The village of Akaki is a transitory point for migrants crossing the Buffer zone. The Buffer is quite porous and poorly protected in many places, making it an ideal place to cross unnoticed at night for many migrants, either on foot or by car. The landscape is marred with remnants of abandoned houses and farms when the conflict of 1974 took place, forcing many Cypriots to find shelter further away from the Buffer zone.

Kokkinotrimithia, Cyprus. April 2022. Raymond and Ismael, two migrants from Sierra Leone, are in their courtyard after a day at work. Raymond and Ishmail met at the camp in December of 2021 and have been living in this house in a field in the village of Kokkinotrimithia. The landlord is charging them each 125 EUR for rent (there are 4 people in a room) plus electricity and water. The living conditions of migrants in Cyprus are horrible as rent is expensive and those willing to rent to migrants will often rent them unsanitary and unsafe apartments simply to get money from the government (100 EUR) as an incentive to house migrants.

Kokkinotrimithia, Cyprus. April 2022. Ali, a migrant from Sierra Leone, is resting at home. Having fled Sierra Leone because of family and land problems once his father, a high ranking official in the military, died. He has a 9 year-old boy at home and has now started working as a cleaner in a cemetery in Nicosia.

Kokkinotrimithia, Cyprus. April 2022. Inside a lookout post in the field behind the Pournara detention center. Cyprus, a nation stuck between Turkish and Greek Cypriots, is full of war relics that have never been replaced. Migrants able to use the fact that the Green Line is porous, take advantage of this and make their way to the Republic of Cyprus, a European Union country, to apply for asylum.

Kokkinotrimithia, Cyprus. April 2022. Migrants waiting for the camp to hand out food before sunset. Migrants often complain that the food is not suited to their diet as they don’t eat this kind of food and a lot of them end up trying to cook their own food in the camp with whatever money they have left or are able to earn by doing small jobs.

Kokkinotrimithia, Cyprus. April 2022. A barbed-wire fence in the Pournara detention center. The camp has become infamous for its living conditions as it is overcrowded and not meant to house so many migrants. Cyprus is dealing with an influx of migrants from the TRNC and the sea routes, and its government is simply unable to cope with it. Migrants who are released but have nowhere to go often come back at night to sleep in the camp until they are caught by police and sent to Nicosia to live on the streets.

Kokkinotrimithia, Cyprus. May 2022. A migrant worker cooking food on an open fire inside the Pournara detention center. Migrants live in unsanitary conditions inside the camp with a lack of access to water, toilets, and showers. The food that is served is not tailored to their tastes and migrants will often cook their own food and try to sell some of it to make some money. An informal economy has developed in the camp with people who have the means to buy groceries and supplies selling them inside the camp for a profit to others.

Kokkinotrimithia, Cyprus. April 2022. Migrants waiting for the camp to hand out food before sunset. Migrants often complain that the food is not suited to their diet as they don’t eat this kind of food and a lot of them end up trying to cook their own food in the camp with whatever money they have left or are able to earn by doing small jobs.

Kokkinotrimithia, Cyprus. April 2022. A migrant shows off the food that the camp is preparing for them. Migrants often complain that the food is not suited to their diet as they don’t eat this kind of food and a lot of them end up trying to cook their own food in the camp with whatever money they have left or are able to earn by doing small jobs.

Nicosia, Cyprus. April 2022. Two UN majors during a morning patrol around the Chetinkaya moat in the Buffer Zone dividing the TRNC and the Republic of Cyprus. This area is a major hotspot for illegal crossings on the island and a lot of migrants will often come down the wall, run to fence and try to climb over. When the UNFICYP or the Military catches them, they will treat their injuries, offer them food and water and guide them to the nearest checkpoint so that their asylum claims can be processed.

Kokkinotrimithia, Cyprus. April 2022. Christian, a migrant from the DRC, runs up a hill leading away from Pournara camp. When I met him there, he explained to me that he would leave the camp on weekends and stay with his friends in Nicosia as conditions are simply too unbearable in the camp. He was recently released and worked part-time in a car wash for 10 EUR per day. Christian fled the DRC because of his work as a journalist. He was educated by Orthodox priests in the DRC and speaks Greek. He is hoping to receive his asylum response soon and settle in Cyprus for the moment.

Kakopetria, Cyprus, April 2022. Condé, a migrant from Guinea, praying at home. Condé was smuggled across the border in the back of a car for hours at night before being taken out and told to run across the Green Line “dividing” the TRNC and the Republic of Cyprus. Through barren fields, barb-wired fences, and multiple injuries sustained, he was picked up by police in the early hours of the morning and taken to Pournara camp. He managed to find work but was rarely paid and once, having worked more than 3 months without pay, he asked to be compensated and the employer simply stopped the car in the middle of the highway and told him to walk back home. He is still hoping to be granted asylum and settle somewhere else.

Nicosia, Cyprus, April 2022. Migrants outside of their homes in Nicosia. Cyprus is dealing with an influx of African migrants coming from the TRNC into the Republic of Cyprus and using the Green Line, a porous 180 kilometers (112 miles) and often poorly guarded border, to claim asylum. Cyprus, the last divided country in Europe, is suffering because of its geographical and political situation, allowing migrants to use this loophole to claim asylum even though they never officially entered the ROC as the TRNC, a de-facto country, is only recognized by Turkey.

Nicosia, Cyprus. May 2022. An African migrant rolls his suitcase in the old town of Nicosia. Migrants often live in very harsh conditions inside inadequate apartments that lack the necessary living facilities or that have not been kept and repaired for many years. After the war of 1974, many Greek-Cypriots left their apartments in the Walled City of Nicosia and a lot of these old apartments are now being rented to migrants.

Nicosia, Cyprus. May 2022. A communal kitchen belonging to migrants in the old city of Nicosia. Migrants often live in very harsh conditions inside inadequate apartments that lack the necessary living facilities or that have not been kept and repaired for many years. After the war of 1974, many Greek-Cypriots left their apartments in the Walled City of Nicosia and a lot of these old apartments are now being rented to migrants.

Oroklini, Cyprus, June 2022. Migrants from Guinea share a meal inside an apartment. Migrants live in this building without heat, electricity, or running water. The landlord abandoned the building and/or has stopped taking care of it and infested water and feces often run outside the corridors. Migrants in Cyprus often live in unbearable conditions, worse than they could ever imagine back home.

Nicosia, Cyprus. May 2022. The Old City of Nicosia is thousands of years old and went through several conquests by the Arabs, Franks, Venetians, Ottomans, and British, all leading up to the war of 1974 with Turkey which effectively split the nation-island into two states, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and the Republic of Cyprus (RoC), an EU member. The TRNC is a de-facto state only recognized by Turkey. This has created a series of crossings around the island where people must present their papers before going in and out of the TRNC. This situation has enabled the recent surge of migrants and fueled the migrant crisis as those arriving in the TRNC understand they are not in Europe and make their way to the RoC to have their asylum claims processed.

Nicosia, Cyprus, May 10th, 2022. Paul, a migrant from Nigeria, poses for a portrait inside the limited space offered by his bedroom, which is the size of closet. He lives inside this tiny room while doing odd jobs until his asylum interview with UNHCR. Migrants often live in very difficult conditions inside cramped and old apartments that are inadequate. Landlords use the fact that the government pays 100 Euros as rent supplement to rent any place that they have available, even if the living conditions are not adequate.