“Refugees, a New Hope:” Inclusion through Sport

Photographer Moe Shamseddine knows what it’s like to be new in a foreign land. The Lebanese-born documentarian moved to Barcelona in 2017, and his been photographing the city and its diverse residents ever since.

For his latest project, Shamseddine partnered with BarcelonaActua, a non-profit that works to integrate refugees through various activities, to photograph refugees playing football in Gràcia.

Through sport, this group of 38 migrants and asylum seekers — from countries like Morocco, Senegal, Mali, Guinea and Ghana — socialize with both volunteers and locals. When not playing football, the refugees, ages 18-36, live and cook together in a hostel in Gràcia.

For these young migrants, playing football with each other and residents, including other migrants, is a means of social inclusion and integration. They’re able to meet new people, explore their neighborhood and become better acclimated to the city.

“Obviously, all the kids in their late teens and early twenties love to play football, so I think it was a good idea to do something like that,” Shamseddine said

Shamseddine hopes the photo series will bring more attention to refugees in Barcelona. “If someone can help them in on way or another, by any means, I will have done my job.”

While he only spent the afternoon photographing the football match, Shamseddine already plans to expand the project to include more subjects and more partner organizations.

Click here to see all photos in the series, in addition to Shamseddine’s other photography projects.