A drug user smokes crack on Thursday 9, February 2023 in Praïa, Santiago Island. ©Carmen Yasmine Abd Ali

Fighting Against Cocaine

Carmen Yasmine Abd Ali

2023 — Cap Verde

About this series

Visit to Cape Verde, an island which has to face crime, dependency and instability due to its geographical situation making it the perfect transhipment point for drugs from Latin America to Europe.

View of Praïa from a popular neighbourhood on Monday 6, February 2023 in Santiago Island. ©Carmen Yasmine Abd Ali
Joaqim Martins and people from the community gather in a popular neighbourhood for a meeting as part of the Hutorumo Program on Tuesday 7, February 2023 in Praïa, Santiago Island. The role of the Hutorumo Program is to rehabilitate former inmates through a follow-up. © Carmen Yasmine Abd Ali
Euclides Lopes, alias Zequito (right), meets with a Hutorumo Program's worker in a popular neighbourhood on Tuesday 7, February 2023 in Praïa, Santiago Island. Euclides used to be part of a gang before going to jail, but quitted after he set free and tries to give a good exemple to his children and the people of his community today. The role of the Hutorumo Program is to rehabilitate former inmates through a follow-up. © Carmen Yasmine Abd Ali
View upon the valley on Wednesday 8, February 2023 in Santiago Island. © Carmen Yasmine Abd Ali
The maritime police sails near the port of Praïa on Tuesday 7, February 2023 in Santiago Island. © Carmen Yasmine Abd Ali
A car is seen in a popular neighbourhood on Tuesday 7, February 2023 in Praïa, Santiago. © Carmen Yasmine Abd Ali
The corridor of men's rooms is seen in Praïa Central Prison on Wednesday 8, February 2023 in Santiago Island. © Carmen Yasmine Abd Ali
A woman sews in Praïa Central Prison on Wednesday 8, February 2023 in Santiago Island. Some activities are proposed part of a social reintegration program that offers job training like tailoring and hair dressing to help inmates find social and professional paths after prison. © Carmen Yasmine Abd Ali
A popular neighbourhood at night on Thursday 9, February 2023 in Praïa, Santiago Island.© Carmen Yasmine Abd Ali
Edson Ribeiro poses in the social workers room in the rehab center on Wednesday 8, February 2023 in Santiago Island. Edson has been a volunteer and social worker in the rehab center for 5 years after he was a patient in the same center. The center welcomes former drug users on a voluntary basis and offers them activities to enable them to integrate socially and professionally upon their release.© Carmen Yasmine Abd Ali

Photographer: Carmen Yasmine Abd Ali
Nationality: French – Senegalese
Based in: Senegal
Website: carmenabdali.com
Instagram: @carmen.abdali

Carmen Yasmine Abd Ali (b.1994) is a photographer and storyteller based in Senegal. After a degree in Journalism and a D.U. in Documentary Photography and Transmedia writings, she started her career working for AFP. Today, she collaborates with international press such as the New York Times, Der Spiegel and others.
Carmen carries out long term projects. In a documentary and artistic approach, she likes to use different mediums to make her stories immersive, especially through sound recording. She aims to create a bond and a relationship of trust with her subjects in order to give a voice to the participants. Her personal projects tend to focus on the intimate: she believes that individual experiences provide insight into global contemporary phenomena and create a connection between one another.
Carmen’s work has been published in international media such as The New York Times, Le Monde, Der Spiegel, Liberation, Bloomberg Businessweek, NPR, The Telegraph, The Guardian, Internazionale, Le Vif and others.
Her images of the 2019 presidential elections in Senegal (AFP) were shown at the Visa Pour l’Image Festival in Perpignan. Her series “Mbelha” (2020) allowed her to be part of the Laureates of the “Rencontres Photographiques du 10ème” in Paris (Fetart). She also won the “Maghreb Photographer of the Year” award (2021) and was shortlisted during the Mentor Award session 8 (Freelens).