The magazine of the art-form of the photo-essay
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Stephen Fry. British actor, writer and film & documentary maker
March 2015 back issue
Photographer: Dalia Khamissy
Amalia is a Syrian refugee living in Lebanon. She left Syria over a year ago, but so fresh in her mind are the memories
of the night they left, she could be talking about something that happened yesterday.
Amalia isn’t the only one of her family affected by the events they witnessed. She explains that even now her daughter
still gets frightened when she hears loud bangs. But it is her eldest son, 11, who she thinks has been most affected,
“He is stressed and depressed and refuses to go to school. May be it’s because he’s the eldest and he’s old enough to
understand – he still remembers what happened and what he saw.”
Amalia and her family fled to the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon. They found safety there, but have struggled to support
themselves and adjust to their new life as refugees, “At the beginning it was really difficult, it’s got a little easier now.
We didn’t have any support when we first arrived. The grocery store would give us food and we would pay later. Then
we started buying things in really small quantities – just a kilo of rice at a time.” Like many Syrian refugees in Lebanon,
the family struggled to find anywhere they could afford to live. They resorted to renting the premises of an abandoned
shop. It has a glass front that looks out onto the road, bare breeze block walls, a cold concrete floor and no kitchen. It
also has rats. They have constructed a room within it using pieces of wood and plastic sheeting to give them privacy
and a little warmth. Inside it is dark and cramped and the seven members of the family sleep in one room together.
Amalia and her husband pay 200,000 Lebanese lira (£87) a month to live here. But Amalia’s husband has been out of
work for the last three months and they haven’t been able to meet the payments. Next month her landlord is increasing
it to 230,000 (£103), pushing them further into debt, “we need money to pay towards the rent. We are not managing,”
she says. Amalia’s situation isn’t unusual. Thousands of refugees are struggling to meet the costs of accommodation,
food and bills.
Photographer: Kate Holt
A woman walks along a road with her belongings and baby on her back near the town of Kibati, near the provinicial
capital of Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo on the 3rd November, 2008. Thousands of displaced people
have started to head home, as there is no food in the camps near Goma and humanitarian aid is still not readily
available.
Photographer: Kate Holt
A woman holds her young child who is suffering from malnutrition at Matumaini therapeutic feeding centre run by
Catholic nuns which has seen 96 new arrivals since the fighting in Rutshuru 70kms from the provincial capital of
Goma, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on 03 November 2008. The humanitarian corridor promised by the
rebels was tested for the first time when a small convoy of United Nations soldiers and humanitarian workers crossed
into rebel held territory to assess the needs of over 250,000 people caught up in the middle of the fighting, as
thousands of displaced continued to head home.
Photographer: Kate Holt
A young boy, who is suffering from malnutrition, eats a high nutrition porridge, at Matumaini therapeutic feeding centre,
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on 03 November 2008.
Photographer: Kate Holt
A woman walks along a road with her belongings and baby near the town of Kibati, near the provinicial capital of
Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo on the 3rd November, 2008. Thousands of displaced people have started
to head home, as there is no food in the camps near Goma and humanitarian aid is still not readily available.
Photographer: Jenny Matthews
Israa, 13, and her family are from Syria. But they were forced to leave their home and come to Jordan when living in
their town became so dangerous they feared for their lives. This is Israa’s story: Life under conflict “There was a lot of
bombing, it was very close to our house. Every day after the sunset we went to the basement because the bombing
started…we had to run out of the door and across the farm to get there. We had to hide behind trees. We were so
afraid.
“I hated going down there, there were no lights and we only had candles. Sometimes we’d be down there for a few
hours, sometimes for a few days. There was nothing to do. You could hear the demonstrations outside at night and the
sound of guns. My mother made a corner for us to sit in; she told us it was a safe place where we’d be protected from
the bombing.” Lost childhood Israa explains that before the conflict started her and her brothers and sisters led normal
lives, they went to school and played with their friends outside in the street by their parents’ house. But when the
fighting started all of this changed, “…after the war started we had to stay in all the time. Sometimes we went to school
but when there was bombing and shelling we would stay at home. We missed a lot of school - sometimes we only
went once per week. Sometimes we’d only be there an hour before we’d have to leave. A few times on our way home
from school there was shooting and we’d have to hide in the houses.”
Life in a refugee camp Israa and her family fled to the north of Jordan where they were brought to the Zaatari Refugee
Camp which has been set up to accommodate the thousands of families who now find themselves in an unknown
country with no home and little savings or possessions.
The family now live in a small prefabricated unit – a bit like a caravan that doesn’t move – with her parents and five
brothers and sisters. But Israa explains that life here is difficult, “the sun is very hot here. The toilets are bad, the
water is horrible.” Like many refugees, the family weren’t able to bring much with them. “We didn’t bring any toys, just
one change of clothes and one pair of shoes each. We left everything else behind and my mum’s told me that now
everything’s gone – it’s been destroyed.”
Lasting effect of war Despite the basic living conditions, the family are safe here. But the horror they have lived through
in Syria has had a lasting effect. As Israa describes life in Syria she uses words – “detained”, “shooting”, “air strikes”
and “bombing” – words that most children her age would not know the meaning of, let alone have experienced.
“What do I remember most about Syria? I don’t know whether to tell you the good or bad. The best thing was the
roses in my mother’s garden. The bad is that I cannot forget the wounded people and scenes of blood. I saw people
wounded, bodies in the streets”
The terrible things which Israa has witnessed is not the only effect the war has had on her either. Sadly 10 days before
they fled the country her eight month old brother passed away. Israa’s mother explained that he fell sick one night,
but all of the doctors had left their town. She tried to take him to the nearest hospital, but the checkpoints and fighting
meant that a journey to the hospital which should have taken her one hour took her four. By the time she got there it
was too late.
Photographer: William Davies
Freshta is three years old. She lives with her parents and two brothers in Bamyan, a region to the west of Kabul. The
family live in a cave built into the rock, a bitterly cold existence during the winter. Bamyan suffered some of the worst
persecution and violence under the Taliban and many of the families fled to neighbouring countries. Freshta’s father
was wounded by the Taliban during their rule and is now disabled. He works as a casual labourer at the local market
but struggles to find work most days. Throughout the winter it is impossible to work due to the heavy snow. Each day
Freshta’s father struggles to feed his family. When they do eat, the meal consists of tea and bread.
Occasionally they can afford enough for rice and potato but never meat or vegetables. During the Taliban rule, the
family fled to the east side of the mountains that surround Bamyan, to a district called Besu. The family live in fear
that the Taliban will once again gain control and they will need to flee again. “I am very afraid of Taliban and I hope
that the Taliban don’t come back again. During the Taliban, we have a lot of problems. We left our home and had to
go to the other districts. Some of our children died during the immigration and some of the pregnant women also died
during the Taliban regime.”
Photographer: William Davies
Fatema (8, in red), Bamyan, Afghanistan. Children affected by war and conflict.
Photographer: William Davies
Bamyan, Afghanistan. Children affected by war and conflict.
Photographer: Greg Funnell
Kadiatu Kamara, an orphan from the Civil War, and who now lives in the Kola Tree Community, photographed at home
with her brothers (left to right) Momoh Turey, 10, William I Makay, 8, and Aruna Koroma, 9. Kadiatu was formerly
sponsored through ActionAid although recently her Greek sponsor stopped with their support. Freetown, Sierra Leone,
21st August 2013.
Photographer Samanya/ActionAid
ActionAid organized a training for 55 Sudanese refugees in Kiryandongo camp. The women were given skills in
making bar soap, herbal jelly and liquid soap. This was done to provide an alternative livelihood, and build their
dignity to stop depending on hand outs! These refugees were displaced from their homes last year when the civil war
in Southern Sudan broke out.
Photographer: Andrew McConnell
Enjey, 1, sits beside her brothers and sisters after sleeping in a classroom of UN run school in Gaza city, Gaza. The
family are from Beit Lahiya and fled to the UN run school almost one month ago.
Photographer: Andrew McConnell
Shadi Awad Elejalaa, 30, pictured with his wife Samah, 22, and his 9 month old son Yazan, outside their makeshift
shelter in the grounds of Shifa hospital, Gaza. The family are from Shejaiya and have lived in the hospital grounds for
over 3 weeks. Shadi says, " Our home was destroyed. Now Yazan is sick from the weather but I can't afford medicine
for him. Everything is out of my control. We have no place to go and can't even take a shower."
Photographer: Andrew McConnell
Mohammed Aldeqtawy, 35, pictured with his children (L-R) Moamen, 6, Ismael, 10, Maysoon, 11, and Arafa, 1, outside
their makeshift shelter in the grounds of Shifa Hospital, in Gaza city. Mohammed is from the Shejaiya district of Gaza
city which was largely destroyed by Israeli bombardment during the war. Mohammed says, "I was wounded in the first
day of the war and after 5 days my house was destroyed. We have no food and no covers and our children have no
medicine. This is our situation."
Photographer: Andrew McConnell
Destruction and damage of homes, mosques, streets and shops in Gaza.
At ActionAid we engage people through the real stories of the people we support and work with. Our photography is
a core part of this storytelling. We do not shy away from showing the truth, telling stories of the problems people face
as well as the positive effects of the work we do.
ActionAid is a leading international charity working in over 45 countries. We work with the poorest women and children
in the world, changing their lives for good. Our local staff provide immediate, hands-on support to women and children
living on the margins of survival. Together we demand action at local, national and international level. We don't walk
away until we've achieved lasting change.
Part I