I was engaged in a reportage project on the earthquake-struck north of Pakistan in 2005 when I first noticed a newly planted micro-garden in a refugee camp. The sight of something as prosaic as that in such a chaotic situation was unexpected and moving. The existence of these tiny gardens changed my view of refugees: I began to see the residents as resilient survivors instead of as victims. It was with this outlook that I began my study of the refugee problems in Calais from 2006 onwards.