The Forgotten
‘The Forgotten’ are all the people we don’t see when we walk too fast in the street. They are those who have fled their country because of war, famine or a dangerous political situation. When they arrive in France, most of them have already lost everything, their loved ones, a house, a job and all the material goods that are the memories of a lifetime. When they arrive in Paris, their freedom is redefined by permanent obstacles: they are denied access to social hotels and night shelters, it is not possible to work without papers or a residence permit and they are quickly rejected by a society that stigmatises them. How can you feed your baby when you haven’t eaten for two days? How can they travel dozens of kilometres every day in the capital between their home and administrative appointments? How to feel free in a country where one locks up, where one neglects, where one does not look anymore?
Pauline Gauer has been working on exile and great precariousness in Paris, Calais and London for over a year. In “The Forgotten”, she tells of the survival of those who lose everything again and again. She enters the intimacy of these broken lives in reconstruction in the streets of Paris, in the camps of isolated minors, in the day shelters, in the administrative detention centres, to testify of distress and hope, of injustice and solidarity.
Find out more:
Website: www.paulinegauer.com
Instagram: @paulinegauer
