Surviving Boko Haram

Paolo Pellegrin’s portraits of former Boko Haram captives in Nigeria depict the still enduring effects of Boko Haram's reign of terror

  Paolo Pellegrin Mohammed was orphaned when his parents were killed by Boko Haram; he is thought to be about 5 years old. Maiduguri, Nigeria. 2017. © Paolo Pellegrin | Magnum Photos

Nigeria’s northeast is experiencing tragedy on a scale that’s almost impossible to convey to someone who’s never felt what it’s like to lose their family, their home and their livelihood to an ideology that makes executioners out of children and weapons out of women.

Magnum photographer Paolo Pellegrin’s work manages to capture not only what can be seen, but also how much in this eight-year war goes unseen. This includes the scale of devastation in unreachable villages across swathes of the northeast, the nightmares of a 16-year-old forced into marriage, or the mental trauma felt by a child who watched their parents die in front of them.

Paolo Pellegrin Women and children at a camp for internally displaced persons in Dikwa. Nigeria. 2017. © Paolo Pellegrin | Magnum Photos

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