In the past months, and years we have read about millions of displaced people, countless two, three, and four letter abbreviations for rebel groups, and stories of the injured that escape to neighboring Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, even Israel.
Free Syrian Army Fighters: Mohammed changes his cousin Jeja's Diaper. Jeja is being treated in Turkey for injuries sustained after stepping on a land mine
Ibrahim T. (24) Fought with the Islamic Front. Wants to go back to fight
Aleppo has become a city synonymous with the struggle of the Syrian people against the regime. However Aleppo is a name of a city that I cannot imagine, in a country I have never been to, facing a situation of daily bombardment I am unable to imagine. Thousands of injured from the periphery of this city pour in to Reyhanli, a Turkish city 40 Kilometers (by air) away. What I have seen very little of in the news coverage is a direct look in to the eyes of some of these injured Syrians, who have undergone a journey from Syria in to Turkey where they were faced with the risk of constant bombardment from the sky, and driving through checkpoints that were in control of the wrong rebel group, or even the regime, on that day. I wanted to see the humanity behind the numbers.
Recently I traveled to the Turkish Syrian border, and met with some of the people afflicted with the visible, and invisible scars of war.
Meysa S. (13) was in school after class when the mortars started dropping. When she escaped the building unscathed, a snyper's bullet hit her spine, and now she is paralysed in both legs. Her dream was to become an English teacher
In the very short time I had there I met a range of people from an Ice Cream vendor, to one of Assad’s Brigadier Gennerals.
Nura K. and Nur were both detained and put in prison. Aa a two year old Nur had to watch as Guards repeatedly raped his mother. Both of them bore whiteness to horrendous conditions, were subjected to torture, and saw children being born in prison cells.
This is a story that is very important to me, and I find it deplorable that there has been little to no news coverage on what may be the biggest humanitarian disaster of our generation.
FSA fighter Amir al S. "I wanted to be an engineer, now I want to be a shahid (martyr)"
Just some info about the equipment I used. Inside the hospitals I primarily used the Fuji X100s. This camera is perfect for being unobtrusive. The Photograph of the one fighter changing the others diaper wiuld not have been possible for me to make with an SLR. If I make allot of noise I tend not tt want to intude on such personal moments. My approach is one of respect, where I don't make myself the subject. The X100 series is small, quiet, and very discrete.
For the portraits outside the hospital I used the Nikon D800E. This camera makes the most beautiful 35mm files I have worked with so far. I also used the Elinchrom Quatra for lighting.
I am very grateful that my article got published the way it did. A cover as well as a double page is what the protagonists deserve. I wish there would be more news coverage of this convoluted and extremely complicated war.
When I got back, isis started beheading foreign Journalists.
Im sitting here trying to write a conclusion, but it is not coming to me... I guess I will leave it at that.
