Stories

A journalist with 20 years of experience and a humanitarian at heart, Daniele Pagani has spent the past 6 years working for the European Union’s humanitarian aid office. Specialised in Middle Eastern affairs, he oversees countries including, Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine.

This photo story highlights the people behind the numbers: those facing displacement, malnutrition, and insecurity, and the caregivers and humanitarians who stand with them.

Across Ethiopia, families uprooted by disasters and climate shocks share space with those who have fled conflicts across borders, all united in their search for safety.

These stories explore the lives of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Maidimu site, highlighting their resilience and determination to rebuild amidst displacement. The Maidimu site, located near Shire in Tigray, Ethiopia, serves as a refuge for over 10,000 IDPs.

In the vast, wind-swept plains of northwestern Kenya, the Kakuma refugee camp and Kalobeyei settlement stretch across the dry Turkana landscape.

Maidimu, Ethiopia – Like many people from Ethiopia’s Tigray region, Fesseha has seen her life torn apart and pieced back together. She has lived through war, hunger and the loss of the land that once sustained her family.

Since the outbreak of the conflict in Sudan in 2023, the hostilities have pushed over a million displaced people – including Sudanese refugees and Chadian returnees – into neighbouring Chad.

Earlier this year, renewed unrest in South Sudan forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes. Families crossed the border into Ethiopia, seeking safety in places like Matar. Here, the most basic needs such as clean water, food and shelter are scarce.

In the heart of Chad's humanitarian landscape lies the Fourkoulom IDP camp, a settlement that has become a refuge for thousands displaced by conflict and crisis.

After the fall of Bashar Al Assad’s regime, Syria is working hard for a brighter future. But 13 years of war have left millions of displaced people struggling to meet their most basic needs.

Yemen remains one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises. With deteriorating food security, soaring malnutrition rates, and recurring epidemic outbreaks, the country is on the brink of collapse.

In 2023, the escalation between Azerbaijan and Karabakh and the subsequent ceasefire afterwards led to the exodus of more than 100.000 Karabakh people to Armenia.

Colombia continues to host one of the world's largest populations of forcibly uprooted people. There are over 7 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), in addition to 3 million Venezuelan migrants and refugees.

When conflict erupted in Sudan in April 2023, millions of civilians were forced to flee their homes in search of safety. While many crossed into Chad, Egypt, and South Sudan, a significant number sought refuge in Libya.

Lebanon is marked by continued economic and social instability, with 2.2 million Lebanese in need of humanitarian aid. The wide economic breakdown left families struggling to make ends meet, while the country is also hosting the highest number of refugees per capita in the world.

In August 2025, when the deadly Ebola virus broke out in Bulape, a remote region of Kasai Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, time was the enemy. With challenging roads, abandoned airstrips and a lack of reliable infrastructure, delivering medical help seemed nearly impossible.

This wildfire season has been one of the most severe in recent memory — the worst since 2006, when records began. Across Europe, flames have threatened homes, communities, and natural landscapes.

In the peaceful yet sombre confines of his home in Lahj, Yemen, 25-year-old Khaldoon reflects on his crutches — an ever-present reminder of a life transformed by tragedy.

More than 1 million hectares have burned—the largest area recorded in the EU since 2006. Almost 2,000 fires have been detected since January, nearly double the number during the same period last year.