My name is Abebe Asres, and I’m originally from Eritrea. When I was nine, I moved to Ethiopia, where I lived for fourteen years before relocating to Sweden in 1985 due to the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
During my first years in Sweden, I lived in various places, including Stockholm, Skara, Gothenburg, and Nässjö, but in 1995 I ended up in Umeå. Here, I got the opportunity to intern as a photographer and photo editor at Västerbottens-Kuriren, and since then, Umeå has become my home.
Photography has been my passion ever since my time in Ethiopia, where I spent a lot of time in the darkroom. In Sweden, this interest grew into a natural career path. Thanks to Västerbottens-Kuriren, my dream of working as a photojournalist became a reality, and I am incredibly happy in this role.