Syrian Refugees Keep a Piece of Home With Them

Henef Slu, 37, a Syrian refugee from Aleppo's northern district of Sheikh Maqsud, holds a photograph of his wedding day from the window of his shelter in Ritsona refugee camp in Greece on Jan. 5, 2017. "It was the most beautiful day of my life the day I married my wife Nadima, we had a lot of guests, family and friends, this photograph was the only thing we carried with us from home," Henef said.

Rustum Abdulrahman, 35, a Syrian refugee from the northern district of Al-Ashrafiya, Aleppo, shows a photograph of his wife Zuzan, 33, at Ritsona refugee camp in Greece on Jan. 24. "I keep this image always with me, I made it as small as possible so no matter what it won't be damaged and will never lose it, my wife is my best friend and the partner of my life," Rustum said.

Kulnawaz Youssef, 13, a Syrian refugee from Al-Qamishly, shows a photograph of her mother Suad at her tent in Kalochori refugee camp on the outskirts of the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki on Jan. 17. "We fled our home with nothing, having my mother's photograph with me makes me feel safe," Kulnawaz said.

Habeeba Waqas, 40, a Syrian refugee from Aleppo, holds a photograph showing her husband Mohammed and her father-in-law Suliman at her tent in Frakapor refugee camp on the outskirts of the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki on Jan. 18. "This is the only memory that I carried with me from Syria, my husband was young and handsome in this picture," Habeeba said.

Suad Abdulmajeed, 57, a Syrian refugee from Al-Qamishly, shows a photograph of her son Ayaz at her tent in Kalochori refugee camp on the outskirts of the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki on Jan. 17. "We fled from [Syrian President] Bashar... and the ISIS with nothing but fear, we just wanted to be safe, my son and husband are in Germany and all I want is to be with them," Suad said.

Sheikhmous Hussein, 33, a Syrian refugee from the northern district of Al-Ashrafiya, Aleppo, shows photographs from his wedding day at his shelter in the refugee camp of Ritsona, Greece on Jan. 11. "It was on the 8th of March 2014, these photographs were the only thing we managed to carry with us from Aleppo," Hussein said.

Ibraheem Ghareeb, 55, a Syrian refugee from al-Zohour Street in Aleppo, shows a photograph of his daughter Mariam, now 20 and living in Germany, when she was 7 years old, and his late daughter Layla, 13, who passed away in Syria in 2004, at his tent in Kalochori refugee camp on the outskirts of the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki on Jan. 19. "This is the only physical memory that I have left of my late daughter Layla and it never leave my sight," Ibraheem said.

Heven Daood, 39, a Syrian refugee from Tell-Tawil in al-Hasaka, shows a photograph of her husband Reiad, 45, at her shelter in Ritsona refugee camp in Greece on Jan. 24. "I have this photograph with me for the last 10 years, it is a very precious picture, my husband used to travel a lot for work and this image always remained close to my heart," Heven said.

Fidan Kiru, 31, a Syrian refugee from Afrin, holds a photograph taken in 2004 showing herself and her husband Mohyeddin, when he was 27-year-old, and her sons, Avindar, 8 months, Khalid, 4, and Levant, 6, at her tent in Kalochori refugee camp on the outskirts of the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki on Jan. 19. "This is the only group family picture we have, my husband is currently in Germany and I hope they will allow me to join him," Fidan said.

Sahar Dargzini, 40, a Syrian refugee from Baghdad street in Damascus, shows photographs of her children when they were young: from right, Amal, now 24 and living in Norway, Dania, now 26 and living in Turkey, Mohyeddin, now 15 and living in Sweden and Salahudin, now 20 and living in Sweden, at her tent in the Kalochori refugee camp on the outskirts of the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki on Jan. 17. "I love keeping my children pictures with me all the times, they will always remain my children, I hope they will allow me to go to Norway and be with my daughter and see my granddaughter Mirna," Sahar said.

Dilgash Hassan, 31, a Syrian refugee from al-Hasaka, holds a photograph of his father Khalil when he was younger at Frakapor refugee camp on the outskirts of the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki on Jan. 18. "I have been carrying this picture for the last ten years, it is a holy picture for me, my father is my role model," Dilgash said.

Amineh Hamad, 58, a Syrian refugee from Eastern Ghouta near Damascus, shows a photograph of herself and her husband Ali Abdulqader, 58, at her shelter in the Ritsona refugee camp in Greece on Jan. 7. "It was the last time we visited the Roman site of Busra al-Sham, a sunny Friday during the summer of 2010, we had a barbecue, walked and laughed a lot, a day from life, we miss these days, we hope one day it will come back," Amineh said.