Johannesburg – February 2010
Zimbabwean asylum seekers at the Methodist Church in Johannesburg. Up to two thousand Zimbabweans, many of them victims of the 2008 xenophobic violence in South Africa, seek shelter nightly at the church for security.

Johannesburg – March 2010
Zimbabwean refugees are silhouetted in the windows of the Central Methodist Church in downtown Johannesburg, March 4, 2010. Up to two thousand Zimbabweans, many of them victims of the 2008 xenophpbic violence in South Africa, seek shelter nightly at the church for security.

Kutupalong makeshift camp – December 2009
A violent crackdown on stateless Rohingya living in Bangladesh has led thousands of people to seek safety at Kutupalong makeshift camp. Driven from their homes in the Cox’s Bazaar area by local authorities and vigilante groups, around 2,000 people arrived in January alone, swelling camp numbers to nearly 30,000.

Phetchabun province – August 2007
MSF has been assisting some 7,800 Hmong refugees living in the village of Huay Nam Khao in Thailand’s Phetchabun province since July 2005. These refugees fled Laos starting in 2005 with some seeking safety from attacks on their mountain villages and others from religious or political persecution while yet others are looking for better economic opportunities in Thailand or a third country. In December 2009, more than 4, 000 ethnic Hmong have been forcibly repatriated from Thailand to Laos.

Oujda, Morocco – December 2009
Migrants stuck in Oujda, on the border between Algeria and Morocco. Reinforcement of border controls mean that a growing number of migrants and asylum seekers have found themselves blocked in Morocco, unable to continue their journey to Europe or to return home. They are left with an increasing sense of frustration and hopelessness.

Lesvos, greece – October 2009
Undocumented migrants are living in an abandoned building in the island of Lesvos. In the last few years, an increasing number of undocumented migrants, asylum seekers and refugees arrive in Greece. They often flee from unstable regions, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Palestine and when they arrive in Greece are faced with extremely precarious conditions.

Brussels – November18, 2009
A kosovar family eats lunch at the soup kitchen organised by CIRÉ and Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen at the Saint-Roch church in Brussels.
At this moment, more than 1,000 asylum seekers have nowhere to go and survive in the streets, with winter rapidly approaching.

Dadaab, Kenya – August 22, 2009
A boy stands beside scavenging birds feeding of carcasses at a slaughter house in Dadaab, the world’s biggest refugee complex, on the border with Somalia. An estimated 5,000 people arrive monthly to the camps, which are operated by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). The camps have been in operation for since 1991 and are currently home to some 289,500 inhabitants.

Ahwar, Yemen – December 2008
Two Somali women refugees wait for a consultation with an MSF psychological counselor at clinic in Ahwar after surviving a dangerous two-day journey in overcrowded smugglers’ boats from northern Somalia.

Paris, France – August 2009
The mayor of Paris has decided to end the nocturnal occupation in the Villemin Square in the tenth arrondissement of Paris. This garden has been the site of squatting by hundreds of mostly Afghan refugees since the closure of the Sangatte center near Calais. Hundreds of Afghans are currently living in deplorable conditions in Paris; some are in transit, others are applying for asylum in France.

Cox´s Bazar, Bangladesh, June 30 2009.
Some of the Rohingya live along the beach on the road between Cox´s Bazar and the Kutupalong makeshift [refugee] camp. They try to earn a little money by fishing. There are thought to be around 200,000 to 400,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh today.

Lampedusa, Italy – December 2004
The small island of Lampedusa south of Sicily belongs to Italy, but lies closer to Africa than Europe. About 10 000 boat migrants from different African countries arrived here in 2004. In the autumn, Italian authorities started returning the migrants to Libya without processing their requests for asylum.

Hal Far, Malta – July 2009
Baby in waiting room of the clinic run by MSF in Malta. The clinic was set up so that migrants and asylum seekers staying in open centres in Malta could have access to health care and psychological support. The clinic is in Hal Far, near the open centres.
MSF provides medical care, mental health support and health promotion activities to migrants and asylum seekers living in open centres in Hal Far and in Ta’kandja detention center in Malta. MSF started working in Malta in August 2008.

Mae La refugee camp, Thailand – November 2007
Near the border to Myanmar, in Mae La camp, which houses more than 30 000 refugees. MSF began treating tuberculosis (TB) among unregistered migrant workers from Burma and refugees in Mae Lae camp in 1999. The project also offers counselling and health education.

Yambio, South sudan – June 2009
Houses in Yambio southern Sudan at night. LRA attacks along the border belt area of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan have displaced tens of thousands of people from homes like these.
Click here to see a slideshow with more images and commentary by the photographer, Brendan Bannon.

Dagahaley Refugee Camp, Dadaab – July 2009
A young Somali boy held by his mother looks out from between the veils.
An estimated 5,000 people arrive monthly to the Dagahaley, Ifo, and Hagadera camps located in the Kenyan border town of Dadaab, which are operated by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

Nyala, Kalma camp, South Darfur – March 2007
Trees are not safe around one of the world’s biggest IDP (internal displaced people) camps in South Darfur. People cut the last remaining trees to be used as fire wood for cooking and, as a result, the environment surrounding the IDP camps is changing rapidly. People cannot travel far to collect wood or food for their animals due to insecurity in the deserted areas around the main towns and refugee camps.

Isahasa, Uganda – April 2009
Congolese refugees hide from the rain in Matanda camp, which serves as a transitory camp in Ishasha, Uganda, just over the border with Democratic Republic of Congo.

Katkama refugee camp – february 2001
Locals have set fire to some huts in the camp. They strongly oppose the presence of the refugees, regarding them all being rebels. Because of constant fighting between several Rebel movements and the Guinean Army in Eastern Guinea there was an outbreak of violence against refugees from Sierra Leone. Several refugee camps have been destroyed.

Camp de réfugiés Katkama – février 2001
Des habitants ont mis feu à certaines huttes du camp. Ils s’opposent fortement à la présence de réfugiés, qu’ils considèrent rebelles, dû à la violence constante entre divers mouvements rebelles et l’armée guinéenne dans l’est de la Guinée, où une résurgence de la violence sévit contre les réfugiés de la Sierra Léone. Plusieurs camps de réfugiés ont été détruits.

Goré, Chad – November 2006
Around 30.000 refugees who fled violence in northern Central African Republic are living in three refugee camps around the little village of Goré in southern Chad. They fled their homes as result of fighting between government troops and various rebel groups. Civilians, suspected of supporting one side or the other, are systematically targeted by violence or caught in the crossfire.

Goré, Tchad – novembre 2006
Quelque 30.000 réfugiés qui ont fui la violence en cours dans le nord de la République centrafricaine vivent dans trois camps de réfugiés autour du petit village de Goré, au sud du Tchad. Ils ont quitté leurs maisons suite aux combats entre les troupes du gouvernement et différents groupes rebelles. Les civils suspectés de soutenir l’un ou l’autre camp sont systématiquement visés par la violence ou pris entre deux feux.