Searching for Sanctuary

Three continents. Two years. One life-affirming photo essay that documents a Hazara asylum-seeker’s journey of escape.

Experience the journey of an asylum seeker through the eyes of Barat Ali Batoor, a double Walkley-Award-winning photojournalist and reporter whose tale of survival takes us beyond the headlines to reveal the personal.

After publishing a piece in the Washington Post exposing the trade of underage prostitution in his homeland of Afghanistan, Batoor became the target of death threats. Forced to flee his country, he began a perilous journey of escape - but he never stopped taking photos. From Pakistan and Thailand to Indonesia and Australia, Batoor spent two years capturing the untold stories of what it means to be an asylum seeker. Witness Batoor’s poignant, life-affirming documentation of searching for sanctuary and overcoming unthinkable odds.