Perpignan (AFP)

Flee bombs, persecutions, droughts or floods ... In the four corners of the world, photojournalists have set their objective on these men and women in search of a more lenient elsewhere, revealing "at the height of a man" the stories of those commonly called "migrants".

"For me, they are the heroes of the 21st century: these people ready to give up everything, even their life, with the sole aim of living better", unreservedly affirms Olivier Jobard, one of the exhibitors at the Visa international photojournalism festival for the image in Perpignan.

In Ethiopia, who has been traveling the various exile routes for 20 years, discovers peasants "on the edge of the abyss" whose dry lands no longer feed them.

In a photo where a group has seen a group trudging through arid mountains, one detail catches the eye: they are all wearing neon green plastic sandals.

"It's the cheapest thing, they spread the word like it's THE walking shoe, but I don't know how they manage to cover 2,000 km with it", wonders, admiringly, the photographer.

Olivier Jobard follows night and day in 2019 in the footsteps of those who dream of joining Saudi Arabia, considered an El Dorado.

But on this road taken by tens of thousands of people every year, some die of dehydration, others drown in the Red Sea.

- "At human height" -

For Moustafa, 20, the trip is also coming to an end, "along with all his hopes to help his old father": he is seriously injured in Yemen at war.

"Repatriated to Ethiopia and consumed with shame, this young peasant lets himself perish away from the gaze of his family", tells the photographer who devotes several pictures to him.

"I try to tell my subjects at the height of a man", emphasizes Olivier Jobard.

"It is our responsibility as photojournalists to be extremely careful not to fall into miserability," he says.

Far from the scorching deserts, Europe too can become a "trap" for all those fleeing war in their country.

Greek photographer Angelos Tzortzinis witnessed the fire that ravaged the sprawling Moria camp in Lesbos in September 2020: "many who lived there called it + hell + or + prison +, and when it burned I have heard migrants say they are finally free ".

- "Transmit an emotion" -

On one of the photos of his exhibition in Perpignan, we see in the foreground a boy of about ten visibly shocked by the fire which ravages the camp behind him: he himself carries a child in his arms.

AFP Greek photographer Angelos Tzortzinis explains the stories behind his photos exhibited at the International Photojournalism Festival in Perpignan, September 2, 2021 RAYMOND ROIG AFP

"I do not even know if they knew each other. At that time, when everyone had to save their own skin, I witnessed scenes of heartbreaking mutual aid", recalls the AFP photojournalist, the one of the four nominees for the Visa d'or News for this 33rd edition.

In another photo, a crouching, barefoot three-year-old screams in fear with his head in his hands.

"Of course I cover the news, but behind the + hard news +, what interests me is to transmit through an emotion, a story", underlines Angelos Tzortzinis.

Losing one's home, fleeing and starting all over again, a tragedy that Bangladeshis are also increasingly confronted with, but in their own country.

"Most (of Bangladesh) is located less than ten meters above sea level and ends up underwater every year, hit by cyclones and tornadoes," photojournalist Abir Abdullah writes about of its exhibition on climate migrants.

He captures surreal-looking scenes in his photos: a family transports the roof of their house on a boat to a dry place or men pray on a raised wooden plank in a mosque engulfed by water.

"This country where many have never driven a car, used air conditioning or contributed even a little to the increase in carbon emissions could well find itself at the forefront of the fight against climate change", fears the photographer.

© 2021 AFP