Humans in Transit: Refugee testimonies from Libya and the Mediterranean

Humans in Transit brings together the voices of 400 people whose lives have been shaped by the search for safety. Their testimonies were collected by Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) over the past decade, many from refugees held in detention in Libya, others shared from aboard search and rescue vessels in the Mediterranean following rescue from boats in distress. Names and personal details have been removed to protect their identities, but their words speak with power and urgency.

Each testimony is paired with a portrait created by one of four artists who set out to give a face to stories too often reduced to numbers. These images illuminate the realities of people who have survived violence, abuse, and exploitation while seeking refuge. Together, they serve as a tribute to strength, resistance, and the enduring right to dignity and safety.

Refugees were not only subjects of the exhibition, but co-creators of it. All of the artists, actors, and filmmakers involved come from refugee or migrant backgrounds themselves” to be replaced by “The 400 artworks and six videos are all created by artists, filmmakers and actors from refugee or migrant backgrounds. Their shared experience informs a powerful collective narrative, stories told by those who have lived them. Humans in Transit is a collaborative act of storytelling, reclaiming how those stories are shared, remembered, and honoured.

This project would not have been possible without the vital contributions of volunteers who recorded the voices of refugees, amplifying testimonies that deserve to be heard. A 21-hour audio compilation of these recordings is accessible for listeners worldwide. These recordings will also be broadcast in exhibition spaces, creating a moving, uninterrupted tribute to the endurance and courage of displaced people.

The exhibition will be hosted this September at Niemetzstraße 1 - more info soon. A digital version, including audio, video, illustrations, and text, is also available for online sharing via MSF and partner platforms.