On the Cover Photo
On the Cover Photo
Nicolò Filippo Rosso
February 17, 2025
“I took this picture at the beginning of July while on assignment for the World Health Organization (WHO). The picture editor gave me carte blanche to document access to food, water, and health care in the biggest refugee camp in Eastern Chad, in the city of Adré, at the border with Darfur.
My interpreter and the driver had taken a break for prayer, and I continued to walk across the camp. Volunteers were distributing meals in front of a building; children and adults held pots to receive food. Men with whips held at bay children who, anxious for their turn, scuffled around shouting and showing their empty pots. The young girl in the photograph was among them.
I was photographing the scene as she called me, a pot full of food in her hand, inviting me to visit her family with whom she would have shared the meal. She was determined that I should photograph the place where they live and hear their story. We walked across the camp for about twenty minutes, trying to communicate in Arabic. I took the picture before reaching their home. Her family welcomed me with great hospitality, and the girl pointed at an old woman I believe was sick. She wanted me to photograph her, so I explained that I would have to return with my interpreter to know their story.
The house was built with leaves, sticks, and plastic sheets displaying the donor’s logo. Like all the refugees in Adré, the family lives in misery and survives on ration cards and the essential response of international agencies.
Before leaving, I pinned the location on my phone but never revisited the family. After a few days, sick with malaria, COVID-19, and pneumonia, I was medically evacuated to the capital city. When I returned to Chad in December, the family wasn’t there.”
My interpreter and the driver had taken a break for prayer, and I continued to walk across the camp. Volunteers were distributing meals in front of a building; children and adults held pots to receive food. Men with whips held at bay children who, anxious for their turn, scuffled around shouting and showing their empty pots. The young girl in the photograph was among them.
I was photographing the scene as she called me, a pot full of food in her hand, inviting me to visit her family with whom she would have shared the meal. She was determined that I should photograph the place where they live and hear their story. We walked across the camp for about twenty minutes, trying to communicate in Arabic. I took the picture before reaching their home. Her family welcomed me with great hospitality, and the girl pointed at an old woman I believe was sick. She wanted me to photograph her, so I explained that I would have to return with my interpreter to know their story.
The house was built with leaves, sticks, and plastic sheets displaying the donor’s logo. Like all the refugees in Adré, the family lives in misery and survives on ration cards and the essential response of international agencies.
Before leaving, I pinned the location on my phone but never revisited the family. After a few days, sick with malaria, COVID-19, and pneumonia, I was medically evacuated to the capital city. When I returned to Chad in December, the family wasn’t there.”
Text and image: © Nicolò Filippo Rosso
EQUIPMENT: Leica SL2-S, Summicron-SL 35 f/2 Asph
LFI 2.2025+-
You can find Rosso's photo series on life in the border region between Chad and Sudan in LFI Magazine 2.2025. More
Nicolò Filippo Rosso+-
The Italian photographer (*1985) focuses on social, ecological and humanitarian issues; his work has documented migration, climate change and human rights in America, the Middle East and Africa, and has appeared in leading publications around the world. Rosso has been the recipient of, i.a., the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Award (2021) and the Alexia Grant (2024), as well as numerous other recognitions. More