The Theater of Roxham Road

Roxham Road is an “irregular” border-crossing straddling New York and Quebec, where asylum-seekers attempt to enter Canada. The RCMP have set up a small processing center to accommodate the influx.

As a continuance of my earlier exploration of extended time within refugee shelters as people await their hearings, the recent component of Roxham Road describes the few heightened moments surrounding the crossing. The environment resembles a theatre with a small stage and repeating players – the refugees, Canada Border police, cab drivers from Plattsburgh, various care-givers and people like myself, who are there to document. We are all witnesses.

For the workshop presentation I will discuss the challenges of making humanist documentary images in a charged situation such as this and my experience navigating the difficulties that present themselves.