James Nachtwey: The Journey of Hope

  • A man signals to arriving boats from the beach in Lesbos, Greece. Refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia cross the sea between Turkey and to the island of Lesbos, as the first step in making their way across Europe, Sept. 26, 2015.
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  • Refugees celebrate after arriving on the beach in Lesbos, Greece. Thousands of migrants each day set out from nearby Turkey for the Greek island, riding in barely seaworthy rubber boats. Some don’t make it, Sept. 26, 2015.
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  • A young girl is helped off a boat after arriving in Lesbos, Greece, Sept. 26, 2015.
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  • Migrants arrive on the beach in Lesbos, Greece after traveling from Turkey on inflatable pontoon rafts, Sept. 27, 2015.
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  • Two women help a third scramble ashore after arriving on the beach in Lesbos, Greece, Sept. 23, 2015.
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  • Leaving behind everything they've ever known, migrants arrive on the beach in Lesbos, Greece with little or no possessions. A woman sits on the beach recovering from the sea journey, Sept. 27, 2015.
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  • A man is helped from an inflatable boat after arriving on the beach in Lesbos, Greece, Sept. 23, 2015.
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  • A man helps a child reach shore in Lesbos, Greece, where refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia cross the sea from Turkey by means of inflatable pontoon rafts, Sept. 23, 2015.
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  • A man walks with crutches on the beach in Lesbos, Greece after arriving on an inflatable boat from Turkey, Sept. 25, 2015.
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  • A veiled Muslim woman carries both a handbag and garbage bag holding her possessions while getting off an inflatable boat after arriving on the beach in Lesbos, Greece, Sept. 26, 2015.
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  • After arriving on the beach in Lesbos, Greece, a woman washes clothes in the sea, Sept. 24, 2015.
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  • Muslim men pray upon reaching the beach in Lesbos, Greece, Sept. 25, 2015.
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  • Refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia cross the sea between Turkey and Greece by means of inflatable pontoon rafts to the island of Lesbos as the first step in making their way across Europe, Sept. 26, 2015.
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  • A migrant walks towards shore in Lesbos, Greece after swimming from the inflatable boat he had taken in the crossing from Turkey, Sept. 27, 2015.
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  • A man hold his baby on the beach in Lesbos, Greece after making the journey with his wife from Turkey, Sept. 28, 2015.
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  • Life preservers and other debris left by the migrants on the beach in Lesbos, Greece, Sept., 28, 2015.
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  • A man walks with his son behind him as they make their way to the train station in Tovarnik, Croatia, on the border with Serbia. In the Balkans, many migrants began traveling by foot, echoing more ancient journeys, Sept. 17, 2015.
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  • A family walks in the no man's land between Serbia and Croatia, towards the train station in Tovarnik, Croatia, Sept. 18, 2015
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  • A man carries his son as they walk in the no man's land between Serbia and Croatia, towards the train station in Tovarnik, Croatia, Sept. 18, 2015.
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  • A blind man and his son rest in a field in the no man's land between Serbia and Croatia, Sept. 18, 2015.
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  • A man sleeps as he waits for a bus that will take him further into Croatia. Refugees line up their bags to save their place in the long lines for the few buses dispatched each day, Sept. 18, 2015.
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  • A police officer screams at refugees as they attempt to board a train in Tovarnik, Croatia, Sept. 17, 2015.
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  • Local NGO workers carry a young girl onto a train in Tovarnik dispatched to transport refugees further into Croatia. 17, 2015.
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  • A young man climbs into one of the few trains dispatched to Tovarnik to bring refugees further into Croatia, Sept. 17, 2015.
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  • A police officer screams at refugees as they attempt to board a train in Tovarnik, Croatia, Sept. 17, 2015.
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  • Refugees plead with police officers to let members of their families board the train in Tovarnik, Croatia, Sept. 17, 2015.
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  • Refugees on board a train in Tovarnik, Croatia, Sept. 18, 2015.
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  • Refugees mainly from Syria, but also Afghanistan, Iraq and parts of Africa make their way north on a train. Two children sleep under a blanket, at right, Sept. 21, 2015.
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  • At the train station in Tovarnik, Croatia refugees camped on the train tracks leaving debris behind, Sept. 21, 2015.
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By James Nachtwey

Their journey began in war, poverty and oppression. They are fleeing, by the hundreds of thousands, from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, from Somalia, Iran, Pakistan and Eritrea, a ceaseless flow of humanity driven by fear, insecurity and lack of opportunity, their desperation matched only by their fortitude and sense of hope.

Somehow they make it to Turkey, within sight of the Greek island of Lesbos, and embark in a flotilla of frail rubber rafts to the refuge of Europe. Entire families, old folks, young children and infants brave the perilous crossing outfitted with flimsy “life preservers” or inflated inner tubes. Most of them make it across, but some have perished at sea.

Refugees, mainly Syrian, cross from Serbia into Croatia. They are among an estimated 60 million migrants on the move worldwide. (Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME)
Refugees, mainly Syrian, cross from Serbia into Croatia. They are among an estimated 60 million migrants on the move worldwide.
Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME

Once they set foot ashore, their past lives are no more than a memory, their futures uncertain. Now they must begin walking, with whatever possessions they can carry, but they’re not sure in which direction or even where they are going. They only seem to follow those who have gone before. Eventually a system of sorts, established by various NGOs, comes into play and they begin the next leg of the journey across Europe, by boat, by train, by bus and on foot, from border to border, with a vague notion of reaching Germany or Sweden or Norway.

In the Croatian town of Tovarnik, on the border with Serbia, thousands huddled at a train station and thousands more along a roadside, waiting to board trains or buses for unknown destinations. Many have no idea which country they are in. The early stages of this transition were chaotic, barely controlled, not by NGOs, but by riot police, trained to deal with civil unrest or football hooligans. Families are separated, but the police remain oblivious to their pleas, arrogant in their power over the powerless, betraying the hope of the desperate who had made it that far, against all odds, only to suffer the cruelest fate of all.

James Nachtwey is a TIME contract photographer, documenting wars, conflicts and critical social issues.

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