Following the Roma in Lausanne and Romania

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When Danut came to Lausanne, he slept most often outside in order to save the CHF5 it cost to sleep in a shelter. © Yves Leresche

From 2010 to 2019, Roma migrants regularly made return trips between Switzerland and their countries of origin using international bus lines. The price of a ticket ranged from CHF100-150 for a single journey. Baggage costs were calculated based on weight. © Yves Leresche

Danut at home with one of his sons, in a village close to Blaj in central Romania. © Yves Leresche

Once a month, the village postman delivered family benefits to Danut and his neighbours, all members of the Roma minority. © Yves Leresche

Florin and Rita made a habit of sleeping under a bridge, protected from the rain. But they were chased away by the police and received fines on several occasions for "camping in the wild". © Yves Leresche

At 10pm, Florin and Roberto take out their carefully hidden bags. At dawn they will hand them over to their cousin, who will catch the next bus to Romania. © Yves Leresche

Rita had certain habits in the centre of Lausanne: she regularly begged on the street leading to the McDonald's restaurant. © Yves Leresche

Florin, Rita's husband, chose to beg at the entrance to the post office. From February 2013, when a city by-law against begging came into force, he moved five metres away from the door. © Yves Leresche

Back in their home village in Romania, Florin and Rita are welcomed by their children. © Yves Leresche

One morning in the house of Florin and Rita: their eldest son, Samir, stays in bed after his younger brother, Remus, left early for school. © Yves Leresche

Some Roma migrants travelling through Lausanne slept in their cars in parking lots. To save money, they would repair the cars themselves. © Yves Leresche

After a day of begging, Maria and her daughter Leana rest by the lake on the outskirts of Lausanne. © Yves Leresche

Leana asked for money on the Grand-Pont, at the top of the stairs that lead to the Lausanne metro. © Yves Leresche

During one of their regular trips to Lausanne, Mirela and Roberto slept almost always outside. © Yves Leresche

In December 2015, Mirela could be found begging in the centre of Lausanne. © Yves Leresche

Harassed by police in Lausanne who would give them fines, Mirela and Roberto chose to create a makeshift bed in the forest. © Yves Leresche

On one of his multiple return trips to his country, Roberto is reunited with his children, whom he hasn't seen in months. © Yves Leresche

At dawn, Adam, aka "Rococo", aged 73, sleeps peacefully in a grove near a parking lot while the rest of his family sleep in the car. © Yves Leresche

Rococo, wearing a traditional hat, makes a speech during the wedding of one of his grand-sons. © Yves Leresche

Rococo in his small house in Romania. © Yves Leresche

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The photographer Yves Leresche documented the lives of Roma beggars in Lausanne for five years before the ban came into force in 2018. His images show just what these families faced on the streets of Switzerland and in their homes in Romania.

“They are tireless, because they are always looking for a place where they can earn the most money,” says Leresche. “Then they get chased away and try their luck elsewhere, again and again”.

A freelance photojournalist based in Lausanne, Leresche immersed himself in the lives of the Roma who were begging in Lausanne between 2009 and 2015, before the practice was banned. He slept outside alongside them, accompanied them when they went begging, and made multiple trips to Romania. His work, entitled “Roma: The tireless quest for paradise”, is the result.

Leresche won the 2020 Swiss Press Photo award for his images of the women’s strike in 2019.