Standing up with dignity

Dominique Houcmant and Hugues Dorzée have embarked on a long-term documentary project. Eight months after the floods of 14 July 2021, they returned to the town of Chênée (Liège), at the confluence of the Ourthe and Vesdre rivers.

Behind this now damaged micro-territory, life is gradually returning to normal. Away from the media noise, the photographer and journalist took the time to listen, in the intimacy of their precarious homes or those under construction, to those who are modestly called "disaster victims".

For long hours, these residents of Chênée agreed to tell their stories, with laughter and tears, anger and indignation, strength and resistance. During these intense encounters, they chased away the demons of a past flood and laid the foundations for a new future.