Many asylum seekers are drawn to Sweden by its robust economy and tradition of helping refugees.
To find out more about those who flee there, photographer Cathal McNaughton spent time at an asylum centre outside Stockholm, taking portraits of people he met and asking about their lives. He photographed the migrants hiding their faces, both to protect their identities and to focus attention on their stories, rather than their looks.
"As a photojournalist, the last thing I want to do is compromise someone's life for a photograph, but I also needed to tell these people's stories."
Gaining the trust of asylum seekers I met in Sweden and taking pictures that would grab the viewer's attention and convey the tremendous struggles and dangers they had faced was a challenge.
They were scared and suspicious and in most cases had family back in their homeland who were in danger.
As a photojournalist, the last thing I want to do is compromise someone's life for a photograph, but I also needed to tell these people's stories.
They wanted me to tell their stories too. Pictures speak a thousand words however, in this case, I needed people to read my subjects’ words.
Here we were in the tranquil surroundings of a stately home deep in the Swedish countryside, yet these people had endured perilous journeys and paid smugglers thousands of euros to get here.
To protect their identities and to make the viewer engage I asked each individual to cover their face.
Taken against a backdrop of beautiful flora I think it resulted in a slightly unsettling group of portraits, which hopefully people will both study and read.