Captions

Malick poses for a photograph inside his room at the Hotel Colibri, holding a photo of himself taken on 2 August 2016, minutes after he was rescued from the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. He survived after seven hours of sailing from the coast of Libya, travelling in rubber dinghy with 120 people aboard.

1. Malick poses for a photograph inside his room at the Hotel Colibri, holding a photo of himself taken on 2 August 2016, minutes after he was rescued from the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. He survived after seven hours of sailing from the coast of Libya, travelling in rubber dinghy with 120 people aboard.

Malick walks with his friends in the streets of Biella, a small city in the north of Italy where they were relocated after being rescued from the Mediterranean Sea in 2016.

2. Malick walks with his friends in the streets of Biella, a small city in the north of Italy where they were relocated after being rescued from the Mediterranean Sea in 2016.

The entrance to the Hotel Colibri. After being closed for 10 years, it reopened as a temporary reception centre for migrants and is Malick’s current home. All the current residents come from countries in sub-Saharan Africa. They are allowed to stay here during the asylum process.

3. The entrance to the Hotel Colibri. After being closed for 10 years, it reopened as a temporary reception centre for migrants and is Malick’s current home. All the current residents come from countries in sub-Saharan Africa. They are allowed to stay here during the asylum process.

Malick lying in his bed in Hotel Colibri. He shares a room with three other people from The Gambia and Senegal.

4. Malick lying in his bed in Hotel Colibri. He shares a room with three other people from The Gambia and Senegal.

Following the ritual he would use with his family, Malick prepares tea using a small electric kettle,. Once the tea is ready, he offers it to his friends while preparing more. This is a way of passing the time in his temporary accommodation.

5. Following the ritual he would use with his family, Malick prepares tea using a small electric kettle,. Once the tea is ready, he offers it to his friends while preparing more. This is a way of passing the time in his temporary accommodation.

Malick has Italian lessons twice a week. In these classes he and his fellow refugees learn the basics of conversation as well as how to prepare a CV.

6. Malick has Italian lessons twice a week. In these classes he and his fellow refugees learn the basics of conversation as well as how to prepare a CV.

Malick and Muhammad from Senegal head home after playing football in a park near where they live. This park is also popular with elderly people living in the neighbouring buildings and experiencing the migratory phenomenon. Biella has an ageing population and most of its youth move to larger cities to pursue their education.

7. Malick and Muhammad from Senegal head home after playing football in a park near where they live. This park is also popular with elderly people living in the neighbouring buildings and experiencing the migratory phenomenon. Biella has an ageing population and most of its youth move to larger cities to pursue their education.

Baba from Senegal plays football with Malick from The Gambia and Mohammed from Mali in a snow-covered park near the centre where they live. Malick, like the others, saw snow for the first time during winter 2017.

8. Baba from Senegal plays football with Malick from The Gambia and Mohammed from Mali in a snow-covered park near the centre where they live. Malick, like the others, saw snow for the first time during winter 2017.

Malick and his friends Moussa, from Côte d’Ivoire and Mohammad from Senegal working out before going to bed as they do every night, not only to keep fit, but also to clear their minds and help them to sleep better.

9. Malick and his friends Moussa, from Côte d’Ivoire and Mohammad from Senegal working out before going to bed as they do every night, not only to keep fit, but also to clear their minds and help them to sleep better.

10. Malick poses for a photograph under a flowering almond tree in a park near the migrant centre where he lives. Spring is just starting in Biella, where Malick has experienced the first winter of his life.

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First finalist 2018

César Dezfuli Rello

Banjul to Biella

Presentation

Malick, 19, left Banjul, his birthplace and the capital of The Gambia, on 14 March 2016, embarking on a perilous journey. After traversing Senegal, he crossed the desert between Mali and Libya inside a petrol tank where he and his travelling companions almost suffocated. When he arrived in Libya, he was abducted and had money extorted by people-trafficking networks and was held for a number of months in a centre where he witnessed the murder of some of his friends. He regained his freedom thanks to ransom money sent by his family.

After been rescued at sea when sailing in an inflatable dinghy with 120 people aboard, he landed in Sicily on 2 August 2016. One of the 181,436 migrants that were rescued along the Central Mediterranean migratory route this year, Malick was moved to Biella, a city in northern Italy where he now lives in a temporary reception centre. After more than two years, he is still waiting for a definitive response to his claim for asylum.

In this reportage, the photographer follows him in his day-to-day life, which could be representative of the situation of most of the asylum seekers that reached Italy in recent years. His story was followed as of his rescue in the Mediterranean.

Biography

(Madrid, 1991). After training as a journalist, César Dezfuli worked freelance focusing on documentary and investigative reports. Although much of his efforts were on humanitarian issues, he also worked on current affairs, combining written journalism and photographic reporting. He specialised earning a postgraduate diploma in Photojournalism from the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona. His work has been published by Time, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, BBC, El País and La Sexta. He has been the recipient of major awards such as the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize 2017, the Head On Photo Award 2017, and Picture of the Year International (POYI) 2018.

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