Ellis Island

At the mouth of the Hudson River, opposite New York City and under the watchful eye of the Statue of Liberty, lies a small island that, despite its modest size, played a key role in the migration process to the United States for decades. Between 1892 and 1954, more than twelve million people passed through this place, fleeing hunger, political, religious and ethnic persecution, the decline of feudalism and wars that ravaged the world. Abandoned over half a century ago after ceasing to function as an immigration control centre, Ellis Island still holds the spirit and imprint of the exhausted, fearful and hopeful people who passed through it in search of a decent life in the so-called New World.