Nuit de la Culture 2025: What remains of love when you leave everything behind?

For the first time in 2025, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Luxembourg took part in Culture Night, an artistic event bringing together many different people from Esch-sur-Alzette and Luxembourg: residents, artists, and cultural partners. The theme chosen for this edition was “The Vertigo of Love,” encouraging us to question the twists and turns of our hearts.

What would you carry with you?

As a humanitarian medical organization, we do not treat diseases but, above all, human beings, each of whom comes to us with their own journey, personal history, and feelings. This is particularly true during rescue operations carried out by MSF teams in the Mediterranean Sea.

From June 2021 to December 2024, 12,675 people were rescued and brought to safety on our ship, the Geo Barents, in 190 rescue operations. Among them were 3,470 children.

One of the first questions our teams ask is, “What do you have with you?” While the survivors taken aboard the Geo Barents have left everything behind, what is the one object that has accompanied them throughout their journey, despite the dangers? A necklace, a notebook, a hat... imbued with the love they feel for their loved ones, most of whom have remained in their country of origin, these little treasures carry stories and memories with them. While their material value is minimal, their emotional value is enormous. These objects give them strength, hope, and comfort.

An immersive photographic and audio project

“What would you carry with you?” is a photography and sound project. It takes the audience on a journey through migration, through the testimonies of people rescued by MSF in the Mediterranean Sea. Through photos and testimonies from Dilba, Precious, Hamid, and others, printed on a wooden maze, as well as through an audio recording in French, English, and Luxembourgish, visitors to Culture Night were invited to stop, listen, and ask themselves: what would we choose to take with us?

A big thank you to all the volunteers who participated in recording the testimonials, to the Kamellebuttek team for their wonderful collaboration in building an immersive maze, and to Mo Salazar for producing the soundtrack.