Jedrzej Nowicki 2019 Canon Award for Potential
Shatiullah Atal, 18, washes his face early in the morning near abandoned warehouses at Belgrade’s central railway station. His face got wounded in Taliban missile strike. © Jędrzej Nowicki
A group of boys warms themselves around the campfire after a cold night. © Jędrzej Nowicki
Men during the meal. Food was provided by NGOs - local authorities did not want to help refugees in any way. © Jędrzej Nowicki
Sleeping conditions were very difficult - the places in which the refugees slept were overcrowded. © Jędrzej Nowicki
A young boy is sleeping in an abandoned car. For some refugees, the conditions that prevailed in the buildings were too difficult. Looking for a bit of privacy, they slept in abandoned cars or tents. © Jędrzej Nowicki
Ahmad - former MMA fighter - trains early in the morning near building where he sleeps. He asked for anonymity. © Jędrzej Nowicki
Men clean up the effects of the downpour that passed over the campsite at night. © Jędrzej Nowicki
Part of the refugees chose to sleep in abandoned railway wagons far from the buildings in which the rest of them live. In the background you can see the construction of the Belgrade Waterfront Project. © Jędrzej Nowicki
One of the refugees draws water from a nearby construction site. The buildings that will be built there are part of the Belgrade Waterfront Project. © Jędrzej Nowicki
Toxic smoke fills abandoned warehouses near Belgrade’s Central Railway Station. Due to lack of wood refugees used plastic bags, bottles or even shoes to keep the fire going as nights were very cold. © Jędrzej Nowicki
Ruins of what was a shelter for almost 1000 refugees. Arabic investor decided to demolish warehouses where the refugees used to live. He plans to build apartments there. Abandoned warehouses near Belgrade's central railway station became home for Pakistani and Afghan refugees for nearly a year. © Jędrzej Nowicki
Aziz takes a walk to Belgrade’s central railway station carrying all of his belongings. He will try to catch a train to Subotica - town located near Serbia-Hungary boarder. © Jędrzej Nowicki
Paradise beaten out with a stick
Nowicki’s series ‘Paradise beaten out with a stick’ explores the removal of refugees from Pakistan and Afghanistan from warehouses near Belgrade’s central railway station. In May 2017, buildings were demolished and the refugees moved to closed camps all over Serbia. Nowicki’s photographs document the everyday life of these communities and the struggles they face in powerful and intimate ways.
About the Photographer
Jędrzej Nowicki (b. 1995) is a Polish Photojournalist based in Warsaw. His work focuses on social exclusion, human rights, solidarity and social injustice as well as environmental issues. For the last 7 years, Nowicki has worked for the biggest Polish daily newspaper entitled ‘Gazeta Wyborcza’. His pictures were published in major polish magazines (Newsweek, Polityka, Tygodnik Powszechny) as well as abroad. He has worked in Poland, Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Germany, Serbia, Israel or Iraq. Nowicki was nominated to Grand Press Photo award in 2018 and won Wielkopolska Press Photo in 2017 and 2018.