Let Me Return Home:
Liberia’s Children Behind Bars, 2024
Monrovia Central Prison. August 2024. Young faces press against rusted bars, their eyes filled with uncertainty. These are Liberia’s forgotten children—incarcerated for minor offenses, survival crimes, or simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Overcrowded and under-resourced, Liberia’s juvenile justice system routinely detains children alongside adults, trapping them in legal limbo for months, sometimes years. Many have no lawyer, no trial date, and no way of knowing when—or if—their case will be handled. Yet even within these crumbling walls, fragments of resilience persist.
Monrovia’s prison system stands as a stark reflection of Liberia’s broader struggles. Despite recent reforms aimed at separating juveniles from adults and introducing rehabilitation programs, systemic failures persist. Many children remain lost in a bureaucratic void, forgotten by the courts, abandoned by the system.
The black-and-white images documenting their lives strip the story to its core—light and shadow, hope and despair. They force us to confront an unsettling question: What does justice truly mean for these children?
For them, the answer is simple: to return home. To their families. To a future where their mistakes do not define them, where they learn.
This series was photographed in Liberia’s Monrovia Central Prison in August 2024 by Vincent Tremeau, where he interviewed incarcerated children.
Through his lens, he captures both suffering and resilience, giving voice to the unheard. His projects, spanning multiple continents, have been exhibited globally and serve as powerful tools for advocacy and policy change.
