Mathieu Golinvaux
Developed while working on board the Ocean Viking for SOS MEDITERRANEE in Spring 2025, SOS Letters is a collaborative multimedia documentary project by documentary photographer Javier Alvarez. His project explores survivors’ experiences through personal notebooks created during their time on board, offering them a space for self-expression beyond the immediate circumstances of rescue.
Through open conversations about their home, memories, interests, and hopes for the future, Javier invites survivors to reflect on what they would like to share about themselves. Participants chose pictures, taken on board or printed from a personal image saved on their phone, to be included in their notebook. They were then invited to write or draw freely, in their own language and style, to illustrate or tell parts of their story.The notebooks are personal spaces for reflection, created for participants to revisit in the future.
Javier Alvarez
Boubacar, from French Guinea, grew up as an orphan, living part of his life on the streets, before police threats pushed him on the road to exile. In addition to what he suffered in his country, he shares a disturbing memory of life in detention, in Libya.
Javier Alvarez
“Humanity comes first.”
Haji has simple dreams, and mainly to live in peace, which he couldn’t have in his homeland, Pakistan.
Javier Alvarez
Samir tells us about his Valentine’s date with his now wife, and mother of his 2-year-old son.
He and his wife left Eritrea, crossing Sudan, walking through the Sahara for three weeks and being held in detention for ransom in Libya. Sonia was denied access to the hospital until being in active labour just outside the clinic. Samir wishes he can go back to his country one day, to help his people.
You can read their story here
