This is Baktash, 20 years old, from Afghanistan.
Winter 2010. I am staying at Atelier Holsboer / Cité Internationales in Paris. At this time many young Afghans stay temporarily in the parks. From there they will try to travel onwards to different destinations in Europe. Many of them are heading for the UK. I travel to Calais several times to take a look at the situation, at the facts.
In the dunes near the port, I encounter small groups of people. Among them is the friendly Baktash. He used to live with his mother in Iran as a refugee but in the end he was forced to leave that place as well.
Despite the piles of trash surrounding the camp, and the harsh overall living conditions, the interior of his makeshift tent is surprisingly neat. His aim, like that of many others in Calais at the time, is to reach the other side of the Channel.