Chad - Breathing Burning Sand
Portraits of women emerge from sheltering shadows, like charred, blackened memories of an inevitable future. They stand in stark contrast to the blinding desert sands and oppressive heat—etched with dignity, defiance, and the weight of a precarious existence. Once-fertile land is now barren, rivers reduced to dust, and water nearly impossible to find. Animals die from heat and hunger, consuming sand, their bodies exploding from trapped gas. The air is suffocating, thick with sand that chokes the life from everything it touches. In April 2025, during our visit to Chad's Batha region, temperatures regularly exceeded 50°C, with climate models projecting an increase of 2°C per decade, underscoring the relentless advance of desertification. The Sahara continues to creep southward, swallowing the Sahel inch by inch. For those who live here, escape is almost impossible. The desert to the north offers no respite, and neighboring conflicts—such as those in South Sudan and the Central African Republic—push refugees into Chad, rather than providing a means of escape. Yet, despite the odds, their endurance remains a quiet act of defiance. Grounded in faith and resilience, they confront the inevitable with strength that seems to challenge the forces threatening their way of life
Date: 2024
Country: Chad
Series: Chad - Breathing Burning Sand
Context: Caritas Switzerland
