Only on AP: Exclusive coverage as Afghan migrants trek across Alps in winter
Afghan migrant Ali Rezaie looks at a map on his phone as he and Sayed Hamza trek through the French-Italian Alps to reach a migrant refuge in Briancon, France, Dec. 12, 2021. When the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August, some Afghans resolved to escape and embarked on forbidding journeys of thousands of kilometers to Europe. Like others, Rezaie’s odyssey through five countries carried him high into the French-Italian Alps, where he was pushing through knee-deep snow to evade border guards. (AP Photo / Daniel Cole)
By John Leicester, Daniel Cole and Florent Bajrami
With exclusive access, the AP team of John Leicester, Daniel Cole and Florent Bajrami drew the world’s attention to the plight of migrants trekking in perilous conditions across snow-covered Alps,seeking a better life.
Chief Paris correspondent Leicester identified the potentially powerful story back in October,when he learned that the first Afghan refugees fleeing the Taliban takeover and other misery were starting to arrive in France by foot via the Alps after long,arduous journeys. He built contacts with villagers and organized a trip for the heavy snow season, when Alpine conditions — and dangers — are at their worst.
Afghan exiles who fled Taliban rule are undertaking hazardous journeys through knee-deep snow in the Alps to reach the heart of Europe. @DanielCole23 followed them, with @johnleicester and @florent_bajrami
Leicester,freelance photographer Cole and Kosovo-based video journalist Bajrami spent days in the snowy terrain on the Italian and French sides of the border,getting to know the migrants,their journeys and struggles. At one point,as Cole accompanied migrants traversing a treacherous section with bad visibility, Leicester monitored their movements remotely and alerted them to the fact that they were coming up to a ravine.
The AP team was there as French volunteers guided the migrants to warmth and shelter. Leicester also gathered videos for use in AP’s coverage that Afghans,Iranians and Moroccans had recorded during their treks. The result: two Only on AP packages that take a respectful,professional look at the humans and humanity behind Europe’s migration debate, where the migrants’ voices have been increasingly drowned out by nationalist invective.
Afghan migrants Ali Rezaie, center, and Sayed Hamza trek through the French-Italian Alps to reach a migrant refuge in Briancon, France, Dec. 12, 2021. – AP Photo / Daniel Cole
Migrants headed from Italy to France walk along a mountain road leading to the French-Italian border, Dec. 11, 2021. – AP Photo / Daniel Cole
Migrants headed from Italy to France walk past graffiti in a tunnel leading to the French-Italian border, Dec. 11, 2021. – AP Photo / Daniel Cole
Afghan migrants Ali Rezaie, left, and Sayed Hamza hide to evade detection by French police patrols as they trek through the French-Italian Alps to a migrant refuge in Briancon, France, Dec. 12, 2021. – AP Photo / Daniel Cole
Afghan migrants Ali Rezaie and Sayed Hamza cross a mountain road in the French-Italian Alps, headed to a migrant refuge in Briancon, France, Dec. 12, 2021. – AP Photo / Daniel Cole
Afghan migrants headed from Italy to France walk along a mountain road leading to the French-Italian border, Dec. 15, 2021. – AP Photo / Daniel Cole
Afghan migrant Sayed Hamza, left, eats snow during a trek across the French-Italian Alps to a migrant refuge in Briancon, France, Dec. 12, 2021. – AP Photo / Daniel Cole
A map indicating dangerous routes for migrants traveling on foot is shown at a migrant refuge in Oulx, Italy, Dec. 11, 2021. – AP Photo / Daniel Cole
A migrant from Guinea, center, headed to France, sits on a bus to the Italian border town of Cesana to start a border crossing attempt though the French-Italian Alps, Dec. 11, 2021. – AP Photo / Daniel Cole
A migrant from Guinea, headed to France, treks into the mountains near the Italian border town of Claviere in an attempt to cross the border undetected at night, Dec. 11, 2021. – AP Photo / Daniel Cole
Migrants headed from Italy to France walk along a mountain road leading to the French-Italian border, Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021. – AP Photo / Daniel Cole
A volunteer from a migrant refuge drives migrants to their COVID test appointments in Briancon, France, Dec. 11, 2021, so the men can board trains to their destinations . As Europe erects ever more fearsome barriers against migration, volunteers along the Italy-France border are working to keep migrants from being killed or injured by cold and mountain mishaps as they cross the high Alps. Networks of hundreds of volunteers run migrant shelters, clothe them for the hazardous border crossing and trek into the cold in search of those who need a guiding hand through the snows. – AP Photo / Daniel Cole
A skier passes by Afghan migrants Sayed Hamza and Ali Rezaie, right, as they trek to a migrant refuge in Briancon, France, Dec. 12, 2021. – AP Photo / Daniel Cole
Youssef Alami, 29, from Morrocco rests at a migrant refuge in Briancon, France, Dec. 10, 2021, after having crossed the French-Italian Alps the previous day. – AP Photo / Daniel Cole
Migrants serve themselves bread during dinner offered at a migrant refuge in Briancon, France, Dec. 10, 2021. – AP Photo / Daniel Cole
–
Shoes donated to a migrant refuge are displayed in Briancon, France, Dec. 10, 2021. – AP Photo / Daniel Cole
The online videos racked up more than 12,000 views,and Bajrami’s broadcast videos were used at length by channels across Asia, Europe and the Mideast. Cole’s photos were used to illustrate customers’ migrant coverage across Europe and beyond,and Leicester’s heart-rending stories drew attention around the world.
For a wrenching exposé of this new migrant route,and for humanizing the people behind the migration,Leicester, Cole and Bajrami earn AP’s Best of the Week — Second Winner.
Visit AP.org to request a trial subscription to AP’s video,photo and text services.
