--- title: A Photographer's Search for the Migrants Shown in This Image description: Massimo Sestini has launched a campaign to find the people he photographed in the Mediterranean Sea last year canonical: https://time.com/4063972/refugee-crisis-massimo-sestini/ author: Lucia De Stefani article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-07T15:34:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:40:06.182Z article:section: World og:title: A Photographer's Search for the Migrants Shown in This Iconic Image og:description: Massimo Sestini is looking for the migrants he photographed in the Mediterranean Sea og:url: https://time.com/4063972/refugee-crisis-massimo-sestini/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbfec99d6ff0d9c6e/69886728ab6d777aec6a68c6/italy-migrants-refugees-asylum-seekers-1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Italy-asylum seekers-refugees-Massimo Sestini og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A Photographer's Search for the Migrants Shown in This Iconic Image twitter:description: Massimo Sestini is looking for the migrants he photographed in the Mediterranean Sea twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbfec99d6ff0d9c6e/69886728ab6d777aec6a68c6/italy-migrants-refugees-asylum-seekers-1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Photographer Is Trying to Locate the Migrants Shown in This Iconic Image by [Lucia De Stefani](/author/lucia-de-stefani/) ## Lucia De Stefani Oct 7, 2015 3:34 PM CUT  Italian navy rescues asylum seekers traveling by boat off the coast of Africa on the Mediterranean, June 7, 2014. Italian navy rescues asylum seekers traveling by boat off the coast of Africa on the Mediterranean, June 7, 2014.Massimo Sestini—Polaris by [Lucia De Stefani](/author/lucia-de-stefani/) ## Lucia De Stefani Oct 7, 2015 3:34 PM CUT We’ve all seen the images of thousands of refugees and migrants on overcrowded ships, fleeing oppression, war and poverty in North Africa and the Middle East for a chance in Europe. Italian photographer Massimo Sestini shot one of these images last year – it captured people’s imagination and went on to win a World Press Photo award and was selected in TIME’s Top 10 Photos of 2014. Now, the Italian photographer wants to find out what happened to the migrants and refugees in his picture, and he’s launched a campaign, appealing for answers.“There were 500 people on that boat, so I would like to launch a worldwide campaign to ask them all ‘Where are you?’ so that I may continue my photo reportage on migration, and further help \[shed light\] this dramatic issue,” he says. Everything started last June, when a World Press Photo exhibition organizer called Sestini from Switzerland with news that a group migrants, now living in the country, were lingering in front of his iconic photograph. Eventually, they asked the organizers if they could have a copy of the image as they recognized themselves and others on board. “I said \[to the organizer\] I could give them the photo for free, but you need to find me their emails, their contact \[information\],” says Sestini. Although the photographer was unable to get the migrants’ contact details, that episode was a catalyst for the [_Where Are You?_](http://www.massimosestini.it/wru.html "undefined") campaign. Sestini has since launched a website, encouraging people to contact him if they recognize anyone on the boat. The photographer hopes to find at least 10 of those people and tell their stories of integration. “This would allow \[me\] to show the migrants in their normal lives, families from Syria able to find an arrangement. They are doctors, engineers who in order to escape war and death in their own country have risked their own life, but they might end up becoming respected professionals in some other parts of the world,” he says. “Maybe there is a happy family living now in \[Geneva\],” working as gardeners in a public park, he adds. “It would be nice to place the two photographs side by side: the photograph of them on the rescue ship, and the photograph of them in that garden in \[Geneva\].” ### Boat Migrants Risk It All for New Life in Europe  Italian navy rescues asylum seekers traveling by boat off the coast of Africa on the Mediterranean, June 7, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris  A soldier using binoculars to spot boats carrying asylum seekers, June 2, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris  Refugees rescued off a boat and carried onto an Italian navy ship, June 7, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris  Italian navy rescues asylum seekers traveling by boat off the coast of Africa, June 7, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris  Italian soldier carries a Syrian child on a ship after the Italian navy rescued 443 Syrian asylum seekers off a fishing vessel, June 5, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris  African asylum seekers rescued off boats and taken aboard an Italy navy ship, June 8, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris  An empty dinghy with leftover lifesavers after the Italian navy rescued asylum seekers off the coast of Africa, June 7, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris  Syrian refugees sleeping on an Italian navy ship after being rescued from a fishing vessel carrying 443 Syrian asylum seekers, June 5, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris  Syrian refugees on an Italian navy ship after being rescued from a fishing vessel carrying 443 Syrian asylum seekers, June 5, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris  Syrian refugees sleeping on an Italian navy ship after being rescued from a fishing vessel carrying 443 Syrian asylum seekers, June 5, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris  African asylum seekers rescued off boats and taken aboard an Italy navy ship, June 8, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris  African refugees rescued by the Italian navy at night off a rubber dinghy, June 8, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris  African asylum seekers rescued off boats and taken aboard an Italian navy ship, June 8, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris  African asylum seekers on board a rescue craft dispatched from an Italian navy ship, June 7. Massimo Sestini—Polaris  Africa refugees on an Italian navy ship after being rescued at sea, June 8, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris  A mother and child on a Italian navy ship after being rescued from a fishing vessel carrying 443 Syrian asylum seekers, June 5, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris  Abandoned boats graveyard in Lampedusa, May 29, 2014. Massimo Sestini—Polaris [**_Massimo Sestini_**](http://www.massimosestini.it/ "undefined")_is an Italian photographer based in Florence, Italy. His photograph of a boat with refugees crossing the Mediterranean Sea won him the 2015 World Press Photo award for General News, second prize singles._ **_Lucia De Stefani_** _is a writer and contributor for TIME LightBox._ _Follow her on_ [_Twitter_](https://twitter.com/lucia%5Fdestefani "undefined") _and_ [_Instagram_](https://instagram.com/blueleeloo/ "undefined")_._ _Follow_ **_TIME LightBox_** _on_ [_Facebook_](https://www.facebook.com/timemagazinephoto "undefined")_,_ [_Twitter_](https://twitter.com/timepictures "undefined") _and_ [_Instagram_](https://instagram.com/timelightbox/ "undefined")_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4063972/refugee-crisis-massimo-sestini/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4063972/refugee-crisis-massimo-sestini/"},"headline":"This Photographer Is Trying to Locate the Migrants Shown in This Iconic Image","datePublished":"2015-10-07T15:34:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:40:06.182Z","description":"Massimo Sestini has launched a campaign to find the people he photographed in the Mediterranean Sea last year","url":"https://time.com/4063972/refugee-crisis-massimo-sestini/","keywords":["LightBox","Refugees","photography","migrants","Behind the Photos"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbfec99d6ff0d9c6e/69886728ab6d777aec6a68c6/italy-migrants-refugees-asylum-seekers-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lucia De Stefani","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/lucia-de-stefani/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbfec99d6ff0d9c6e/69886728ab6d777aec6a68c6/italy-migrants-refugees-asylum-seekers-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Italy-asylum seekers-refugees-Massimo Sestini","caption":"Italian navy rescue asylum seekers","creditText":"Massimo Sestini—Polaris","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-lightbox/","name":"LightBox"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4063972/refugee-crisis-massimo-sestini/","name":"This Photographer Is Trying to Locate the Migrants Shown in This Iconic Image"}}]}] ```