honorable mention
Andrea Bettancini italy
title
WITHOUT A HOMELAND - The contended Land
Africa is a land of Euclidean geometries, whose borders have been designed by non African people for [nomadic] people who did not have or know any borders.
There is a slim triangle of land along the perfectly horizontal line that separates Egypt from Sudan, which has always been claimed by both countries. It is the Halayeb-Shalateen triangle”.
Starting from Sudan's independence in 1956, border relations with Egypt have always been characterized more by reciprocal suspicion than by peaceful exchanges.
The situation became even worse in the following decades due to a never ending sequence of obstacles and conflicts, particularly on that strip of land, which is currently under Egyptian rule.
Shalateen is the main outpost of the territory and it is also the most important dromedary market of Egypt, managed by nomadic tribes both of Arabic and Nubian origins who have always inhabited those lands. (Beja, Ababda e Rashaida).
They are the ones who are paying the highest price for the conflict. For many years now and after many promises, “waiting for the end of the crisis”, those people still do not have a citizenship, they are stateless, paperless and worried that if they move they might be arrested.
Egyptian authorities refuse to give them an official paper demonstrating their right to Egyptian citizenship.
“is there a bigger injustice than not knowing one's own home, nationality or identity? Although we have all been born in this land?”
this is the thought of an old Beja bedhouin.
I worked in the fashion and publishing industry. The photographic genres I prefer are Street, Travel and Reportage, a photo contest for me is an opportunity for comparison, criticism and judgment by qualified people, an opportunity for growth. I was awarded at the World Water Day Photo Contest 2019, at the Trieste Photo Days 2020 and Italian competitions.
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entry description
Africa is a land of Euclidean geometries, whose borders have been designed by non African people for [nomadic] people who did not have or know any borders.
There is a slim triangle of land along the perfectly horizontal line that separates Egypt from Sudan, which has always been claimed by both countries. It is the Halayeb-Shalateen triangle”.
Starting from Sudan's independence in 1956, border relations with Egypt have always been characterized more by reciprocal suspicion than by peaceful exchanges.
The situation became even worse in the following decades due to a never ending sequence of obstacles and conflicts, particularly on that strip of land, which is currently under Egyptian rule.
Shalateen is the main outpost of the territory and it is also the most important dromedary market of Egypt, managed by nomadic tribes both of Arabic and Nubian origins who have always inhabited those lands. (Beja, Ababda e Rashaida).
They are the ones who are paying the highest price for the conflict. For many years now and after many promises, “waiting for the end of the crisis”, those people still do not have a citizenship, they are stateless, paperless and worried that if they move they might be arrested.
Egyptian authorities refuse to give them an official paper demonstrating their right to Egyptian citizenship.
“is there a bigger injustice than not knowing one's own home, nationality or identity? Although we have all been born in this land?”
this is the thought of an old Beja bedhouin.
about the photographer
I have always been a photography enthusiast, I had an artistic education (Artistic high school, and European design institute in Milan IED)I worked in the fashion and publishing industry. The photographic genres I prefer are Street, Travel and Reportage, a photo contest for me is an opportunity for comparison, criticism and judgment by qualified people, an opportunity for growth. I was awarded at the World Water Day Photo Contest 2019, at the Trieste Photo Days 2020 and Italian competitions.
back to gallery
