‘You are safe’
For migrants lost in the middle of the sea, after fleeing persecution and war, these three words mean all the world.
A Liberian Red Cross Society Safe and Dignified Burials team removes a body from a house in Freetown, Liberia. For the photographer, Victor Lacken, the photo is about anticipation. “I cased the building,” he says. “I knew where they were going to come out. What I didn’t know was that a curious neighbour would be watching from above.”
Once inside their protective clothing, only their eyes are visible. Here, a member of a Safe and Dignified Burials team gets suited up with help from a fellow team member.
“I captured this photo of two burial team members as they walked to pray for someone who had died during the Ebola outbreak,” says photographer Victor Lacken. “At a time when people were not allowed to touch, this was the safest way to do so.”
“When I take a photo I am constantly moving to find that best angle, such as the reflection in the water in this photo,” says Lacken.
Just like Angela, hundreds of thousands of volunteers around the world have joined Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies during the Covid-19 response.