The opinions expressed in this essay are the author’s own.
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About the PhotographerMikkel Hørlyck is a conflict photojournalist and visual artist based in Copenhagen, Denmark. He has a BA in photojournalism from the Danish School of Media and Journalism. He has worked as a photojournalist intern at Politiken and studied at Fatamorgana The Danish School of Art Photography. In 2019, Hørlyck was the recipient of Discovery of the Year at The Lucie Awards in New York City. His work has received awards and honors from Danish Picture of the Year, Vilnius Photo Circle, and World Report Award, among others. |
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My first decade as a photojournalist was marked by encounters with neglected groups of people. The positive thing was that the fighting spirit among them was strong. They wanted understanding. Drug abusers who were intelligent, refugees who were tenacious, warriors who wanted the best for others, rescue workers, because what else would they do? The purpose of Human Destinies On The Edge is an inclusion project about conflict. About both saying yes and no. To include. The will as the ultimate. The world is in motion, all the time. And to keep up, you have to connect to the world we live in.
© Mikkel Hørlyck
Ukraine, War: Ukrainian firefighters and paramedics are transferring a civilian survivor out of the rubble of residential buildings in Kharkiv, Ukraine, which was hit by a Russian missile on January 23, 2024. During the evening, the firefighters found the man's wife and child dead inside their former home. Eleven civilians died in Kharkiv, approximately 75 people were injured, and several residential buildings were destroyed. The capital city of Kyiv was also hit by Russian missile attacks.
Kharkiv is located approximately 40 kilometers from Russia. The full-scale Russian invasion and war in Ukraine started in February 2022.
Kharkiv is located approximately 40 kilometers from Russia. The full-scale Russian invasion and war in Ukraine started in February 2022.
© Mikkel Hørlyck
Somalia, Gender-Based Violence: Hamda Mohammed (27) works at the Safe Space Center with KAALO Aid and Development Organization to help women and girls affected by gender-based violence at a camp for internally displaced people. Hamda is a facilitator and safety educator who conducts consultations with women and girls and can also refer people to a hospital or a psychologist.
The atmosphere in the IDP (Internally Displaced People) camp Jilab 2 is harsh, and the poverty in Garowe, Puntland's IDP camps is very evident. At the Safe Space Center, safety is the number one priority for women and girls. Many people from the southern part of Somalia have traveled to the IDP camps from economic problems and conflict, where the terrorist organization Al-Shabaab is active.
The atmosphere in the IDP (Internally Displaced People) camp Jilab 2 is harsh, and the poverty in Garowe, Puntland's IDP camps is very evident. At the Safe Space Center, safety is the number one priority for women and girls. Many people from the southern part of Somalia have traveled to the IDP camps from economic problems and conflict, where the terrorist organization Al-Shabaab is active.
© Mikkel Hørlyck
Sierra Leone, Climate Crisis: The canals are at a breaking point in the Pottor community of Freetown, Sierra Leone, because there has been flooding during the night. David (23) is standing at the door of his house. In front of him, a young woman walks through the flooding of the area from the night. The water has started to recede again. David is very cold after the night. The cold comes with the floods. People often die from the cold.
It is clear to see the fear in people's eyes when they talk about the water. They are afraid that if they go to sleep at night and can hear the rain falling, they will wake up to a flooded home. That's why they stay awake, so they can tend to their homes and help their fellow humans during the rain.
The rainy season lasted from July to September in 2023. Previously, it was two shorter rainy seasons, but now it is one long continuous rainy season. Afterwards, the people of Sierra Leone experience intense drought. They are looking for ways to store rain from the rainy season, so they can use it when the drought hits.
It is clear to see the fear in people's eyes when they talk about the water. They are afraid that if they go to sleep at night and can hear the rain falling, they will wake up to a flooded home. That's why they stay awake, so they can tend to their homes and help their fellow humans during the rain.
The rainy season lasted from July to September in 2023. Previously, it was two shorter rainy seasons, but now it is one long continuous rainy season. Afterwards, the people of Sierra Leone experience intense drought. They are looking for ways to store rain from the rainy season, so they can use it when the drought hits.
© Mikkel Hørlyck
Moldova, Poverty: Andrei (10) looks up without seeing. He was born blind. At the orphanage the most common diagnoses are autism, Down’s syndrome and epilepsy. Andrei and his group are outside getting fresh air. At the same time, a social worker drives a boy up and down the road, who she sings to and entertains.
In the town of Orhei in Europe’s poorest country, Moldova, is an old institution for disabled boys. The 200 boys and men who live in the institution are all physically or mentally disabled. They are being cared for by an understaffed but hard-working crew of female social workers.
Poverty is the primary factor for their parents feeling forced to hand over their boys to the orphanage. The one thing the boys have in common is the lack of care and attention from a family – affection that is crucial to their development.
In the town of Orhei in Europe’s poorest country, Moldova, is an old institution for disabled boys. The 200 boys and men who live in the institution are all physically or mentally disabled. They are being cared for by an understaffed but hard-working crew of female social workers.
Poverty is the primary factor for their parents feeling forced to hand over their boys to the orphanage. The one thing the boys have in common is the lack of care and attention from a family – affection that is crucial to their development.
© Mikkel Hørlyck
Denmark, Abuse: Jørgen Pedersen is preparing a fix in his apartment, while listening to music.
As a photographer, I wouldn't doubt a second saying, that I had the honor of photographing a legend. Jørgen? He cheated death. Many times. But he didn’t do it alone. Doctors, nurses and guardians were a great help through the years. They saved him - again and again. Jørgen Pedersen should have been dead long ago - considering his age, countless diseases, and 40 years of drug abuse. I loved photographing him from our very first meeting to the last. He was a scientist of drugs. Freud of the drug environment. Satan’s favorite. A sophisticated mindset and extroverted being. A holy man. A rich character.
As a photographer, I wouldn't doubt a second saying, that I had the honor of photographing a legend. Jørgen? He cheated death. Many times. But he didn’t do it alone. Doctors, nurses and guardians were a great help through the years. They saved him - again and again. Jørgen Pedersen should have been dead long ago - considering his age, countless diseases, and 40 years of drug abuse. I loved photographing him from our very first meeting to the last. He was a scientist of drugs. Freud of the drug environment. Satan’s favorite. A sophisticated mindset and extroverted being. A holy man. A rich character.
© Mikkel Hørlyck
The Mediterranean Sea, Libya, Migration: A survivor looks at The Mediterranean Sea.
Doctors Without Borders’ “Search and Rescue team” are sailing in The Mediterranean Sea to find boats in distress with migrants and refugees coming to Europe, mainly from Libya. The refugees and migrants are from Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The route over the Mediterranean Sea is considered the most deadly sea route for migrants and refugees.
Many people coming through and from Libya have experienced torture, being held as slaves in a trafficking warehouse and had no human rights protected. The abuse for many has been sexual, violent, and for long periods.
Since 2015, Doctors Without Borders has helped 94,000 people on The Mediterranean Sea.
Doctors Without Borders’ “Search and Rescue team” are sailing in The Mediterranean Sea to find boats in distress with migrants and refugees coming to Europe, mainly from Libya. The refugees and migrants are from Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The route over the Mediterranean Sea is considered the most deadly sea route for migrants and refugees.
Many people coming through and from Libya have experienced torture, being held as slaves in a trafficking warehouse and had no human rights protected. The abuse for many has been sexual, violent, and for long periods.
Since 2015, Doctors Without Borders has helped 94,000 people on The Mediterranean Sea.
© Mikkel Hørlyck
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Pushback: Atefeh Mohseni (10) lifts her little sister Nazanin Zainab Mohseni (3) and kisses her on the cheek. Nazanin calms down.
Atefeh and Nazanin have experienced 20 failed escape attempts of ‘The Game’ at the Croatian border with their father, Hassan Mohseni (39). They live in an abandoned house in the bordertown of Bosanska Bojna in Bosnia-Hercegovina.
Earlier, Atefeh and Nazanin’s mother and brother were with the family. But the family split up to improve their chances of escape. Atefeh and Nazanin’s mother and brother managed to get to a refugee camp in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia.
“The only thing I think about is reuniting my family. I will never stop crossing the border,” says Hassan Mohseni.
Atefeh and Nazanin have experienced 20 failed escape attempts of ‘The Game’ at the Croatian border with their father, Hassan Mohseni (39). They live in an abandoned house in the bordertown of Bosanska Bojna in Bosnia-Hercegovina.
Earlier, Atefeh and Nazanin’s mother and brother were with the family. But the family split up to improve their chances of escape. Atefeh and Nazanin’s mother and brother managed to get to a refugee camp in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia.
“The only thing I think about is reuniting my family. I will never stop crossing the border,” says Hassan Mohseni.
© Mikkel Hørlyck
Denmark, Anorexia: Lotte Mirsal (34) by a lake with her daughter and boyfriend. When Lotte was 12, she did competitive trampoline and tumbling. She gained weight, and the coach did not select her for the final competing team. She looked at herself in the mirror and thought: “I’m way too fat”. Lotte began to starve herself. It helped her. She was selected for the team. It didn’t make anorexia less appealing. Lotte remembers being very sad when she was young.
“I’ve gone through various kinds of treatments since I was 12, and I stopped coming to the Centre for Eating Disorders when I was 31. I had to try to fight it myself,” says Lotte. Denmark operates with three different levels of treatment of anorexia.
“I’ve gone through various kinds of treatments since I was 12, and I stopped coming to the Centre for Eating Disorders when I was 31. I had to try to fight it myself,” says Lotte. Denmark operates with three different levels of treatment of anorexia.
© Mikkel Hørlyck
Greece, Wildfire: The fire department managed to end the fire with 55 firemen, 15 fire trucks, and air support. Fire cameras installed helped to prevent even more spread of the fire around Kanallaki, Northwestern Greece. They also help to identify perpetrators.
In Greece, wildfires are seen all over the country during the summer, mostly in the northeastern part of the country and close to the capital of Athens. The reasons are several: climate change, high heat, and man-made fires by e.g. pyromaniacs. In the outskirts of the little town of Kanallaki, in the regional unit of Preveza, Epirus in northwestern Greece, a fire was lit by a human or humans on July 10, 2024. The aftermath left the outskirts with damage along the fields, buildings, and fences, and close to a religious building. Kanallaki’s population is around 2,500 people.
In Greece, wildfires are seen all over the country during the summer, mostly in the northeastern part of the country and close to the capital of Athens. The reasons are several: climate change, high heat, and man-made fires by e.g. pyromaniacs. In the outskirts of the little town of Kanallaki, in the regional unit of Preveza, Epirus in northwestern Greece, a fire was lit by a human or humans on July 10, 2024. The aftermath left the outskirts with damage along the fields, buildings, and fences, and close to a religious building. Kanallaki’s population is around 2,500 people.
