WORDS & IMAGES BY JAVIER ÁLVAREZ
In April 2019, Moroccan border police forcibly expelled almost 200 West and Central African refugees from Tangier and the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. They were abandoned in Casablanca, stripped of belongings, and stranded over 300 km from the Strait of Gibraltar.
While documenting this forced displacement, I met young people who asked a simple but powerful question: “Can you send a message to my family?” Many had not spoken to loved ones in months. These images come from a collaborative process in which they expressed their journey as messages to their families, most often their mothers. Some addresses were untraceable; others were sent without proof of delivery.
While documenting this forced displacement, I met young people who asked a simple but powerful question: “Can you send a message to my family?” Many had not spoken to loved ones in months. These images come from a collaborative process in which they expressed their journey as messages to their families, most often their mothers. Some addresses were untraceable; others were sent without proof of delivery.
When Morocco reopened its borders in 2022, I reunited with the Rabat-based NGO The Minority Globe to explore how these images could continue to serve others. Together, we self-published a limited-edition postcard box of these portraits and letters, funding a storytelling workshop for teens in transit in Rabat in 2025.
Earlier this year, the project was exhibited at the “Latin American Panorama” during PhotoVogue Festival 2025 in Milan, where I spoke on the panel Our Planet, Our Responsibility: Environment, Climate Change & Social Issues. The postcards are now also available at Printed Matter in New York, expanding the reach of these stories while creating tangible connections across borders. Salut Maman is a quiet but urgent testament to youth on the move in North Africa, whose voices are often unheard, carrying messages across closed borders and uncertain paths.
Javier Álvarez is a recipient of our micro-grant.
