A local photographer traveled to Poland to document the refugee crisis. Here's what he saw.
As Russia launched its attack on Ukraine and news of hundreds of thousands of refugees flowing across the border to Poland reached Alex Carrigg, traveling there to document it just felt right.
The Westport resident, whose family has been involved in local real estate for decades, has spent several years as a freelance photographer documenting protests and political unrest in the U.S. and said he’s always wanted to cover international events.
“I just bought a plane ticket,” he said.
In early March, he arrived in Krakow, Poland, with his photography equipment.
“Right when I arrived, I saw children and mothers on the sidewalk in the nighttime with luggage and jugs of water. They were just sitting there with nowhere to go,” he said.
Capturing the scale of the crisis
Carrigg said he initially intended to travel into Ukraine itself to document the conflict. But he decided against it when he got to Poland, partly because of logistical problems with entering the besieged country and partly because, with the surge of refugees into Poland, he didn’t have to in order to capture the scale of the crisis.
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“You just see so many people, you realize that that’s the story,” he said.
He traveled to the Polish city of Medyka, which has become one of the busiest crossings for refugees since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, and farther up the border toward Belarus.
“It was quite chaotic,” he said, with cars, buses, ambulances, vehicles of every kind being used to shuttle Ukrainians.
In his photos, refugees bundled in coats and blankets against the freezing temperatures balance luggage and small children as they wait in lines, climb onto buses and interact with armed border guards. Some of them clutch essential documents in plastic bags, or a precious item like a stuffed animal or guitar. Most look harried or dazed.
'All the conditions are there for a severe humanitarian disaster'
Almost every Ukrainian Carrigg met was a child or infant, mother or elderly person. Some of them had been traveling for nearly a week and were still not at their final destination.
“They find hope because they’re somewhat safe in Poland, but the journey is still so long,” he said.
The faces of traumatized children stick in his memory the most.
“Some are mad, scared and cold. But others just look lost. It’s really sad to witness,” he said.
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Carrigg said he was struck by the kindness Polish locals showed the refugees, like a border guard he saw give a teddy bear to a young Ukrainian girl who was crying. Some locals offered to take Ukrainians into their homes indefinitely until they could get back on their feet.
“That takes a lot of empathy,” he said.
He said he worried too about the refugees’ health. Many of them had no choice but to travel in cramped buses and trains and stay in overflowing lodging, all in freezing conditions, while the pandemic has not ended.
“You can see this is a vulnerable population. They’ve been traveling without sleep, they’re cold… all the conditions are there for a severe humanitarian disaster,” he said.
Carrigg left Poland on March 11, after spending 10 days there.
He said he hopes his photos can be a piece of the puzzle of the conflict’s historical record. Documenting difficult situations like the plight of refugees is crucial to hold those in power accountable, he said.
“A single photographer can only give a glimpse of the total conflict,” he said.
Audrey Cooney can be reached at acooney@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Russia-Ukraine war: Westport photographer documents refugees in Poland
