From 2016-2023, MSF (OCA) provided medical and humanitarian care - including general healthcare, mental health support, referrals of life-threatening conditions to specialist healthcare facilities, and the facilitation of access to protection services – to refugees, asylum seekers and migrants arbitrarily detained, often in violent and inhumane conditions, in detention centres across Tripoli, Libya.  

 

During these years working in Libya and during the 10 years of SAR activities in the Mediterranean (2015-2025), hundreds of people shared with MSF teams their stories about their dangerous journeys across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe and through Libya. Most accounts detail experiences of extreme violence, dehumanisation, and abuse. 

 

With the objective of humanizing the faceless statistics of these individuals, in 2024 we decided to select 400 of their testimonies and create an artistic tool to advocate, campaign, communicate, and ultimately pay tribute to all these people and their stories. 

 

Nothing about us, without us. Here, refugees are not mere subjects but active contributors to the storytelling process. All artists, filmmakers, and actors involved bring their own refugee backgrounds and shared migrant journeys, creating a tapestry of stories by refugees, for refugees. This is a collective act of storytelling—a reclamation of ownership over how stories are shared and preserved. 

 

Four artists illustrated 100 vibrant portraits each, drawing inspiration from the testimonies they received. Every portrait is paired with a testimony, carefully edited for clarity. In addition, seven actors with similar migrant backgrounds narrate the stories of seven individuals on camera in six videos, ensuring these narratives endure. MSF volunteers recorded the voices to create a sound archive for this expansive project. All materials are designed to travel globally, featured in physical exhibitions, spaces of reflection, empathy, and action. Additionally, they are accessible online through a virtual exhibition, extending their reach and impact.