Photographer’s portraits of refugees show everything they bring when they flee

As the world gets to grips with the worst refugee crisis since the Second World War, the humanitarian aid organisation The International Rescue Committee sent its photographer Tyler Jump to visit one of the migrant camps at Lesbos, where some 100,000 refugees this year alone crossed the Aegean Sea to escape their home countries.

Jump was asked to shoot a series of portraits documenting how the hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war-torn nations across the Middle East and Africa make their long journeys with little to no possessions.

Refugees arrive with only the bare necessities, and it’s these few items that help fill in the details about their past and their hopes for the future.

Juliette Delay and Jump, both with the IRC, asked a mother, a child, a teenager, a pharmacist, an artist, and a family of 31 to share the contents of their bags.

Below is a sample of some of the many portraits Jump captured during his visit, and the stories behind them. Names have been changed to protect their anonymity.

Aboessa, a mother, age 20, from Damascus, Syria

When fighting broke out near to where Aboessa lived with her husband and 10-month-old daughter in Syria’s capital, they crossed the border to Turkey. Here they spent a week in a refugee camp before boarding a rubber raft bound for Europe. Despite strong sea currents and a brush with Turkish police patrolling the coast, their boat made it to Lesbos using makeshift paddles.

• Hat for the baby
• An assortment of medication, a bottle of sterile water, and a jar of baby food
• A small supply of napkins for diaper changes
• A hat and a pair of socks for the baby
• Assortment of pain relievers, sunscreen and sunburn ointment, toothpaste
• Personal documents (including the baby’s vaccination history)
• Wallet (with photo ID and money)
• Cell phone charger
• Yellow headband

“Everything is for my daughter to protect her against sickness. When we arrived in Greece, a kind man gave me two jars of food. Another man gave us biscuits and water when he saw my baby.”

Omran, age 6, from Damascus, Syria

Omran’s time at Lesbos is temporary, as his family plans to make its way to Germany where they have extended family. Because they are travelling through forests to avoid detection, Omran packed bandages for his inevitable scrapes and cuts.

• 1 pair of pants, 1 shirt
• A syringe for emergencies
• Marshmallows and sweet cream (Omran’s favorite snacks)
• Soap, toothbrush and toothpaste
• Bandages

Iqbal, age 17, from Kunduz, Afghanistan

Iqbal has traveled hundreds of miles by foot after he dodged bullets to escape his war-torn province in Afghanistan. Fleeing first to Iran, then to Turkey, he finally made it to Lesbos but is unsure where to go next.

• 1 pair of pants, 1 shirt, 1 pair of shoes and 1 pair of socks
• Shampoo and hair gel, toothbrush and toothpaste, face whitening cream
• Comb, nail clipper
• Bandages
• 100 U.S. dollars
• 130 Turkish liras
• Smart phone and back-up cell phone
• SIM cards for Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey

“I want my skin to be white and hair to be spiked — I don’t want them to know I’m a refugee. I think that someone will spot me and call the police because I’m illegal.”

Nour, an artist, age 20, from Syria

Nour played guitar for seven years back in Syria, and painted as well. But as bombs and gunfire got closer to his home he left for Turkey.

• Small bag of personal documents
• A rosary (gift from his friend; Nour doesn’t let it touch the floor)
• A watch (from his girlfriend; it broke during the journey)
• Syrian flag, Palestinian charm, silver and wooden bracelets (gifts from friends)
• Guitar picks (one also a gift from a friend)
• Cell phone and Syrian SIM card
• Photo ID
• 1 shirt

“I left Syria with two bags, but the smugglers told me I could only take one. The other bag had all of my clothes. This is all I have left.”

A family, from Aleppo, Syria

This family lost everything they owned during their journey to Greece. The seven women, four men and 20 children in this family each had one or two bags under their arm when they left Syria for Turkey. But when their boat began to sink on the way to Lesbos they lost all but one bag.

• 1 shirt, 1 pair of jeans,
• 1 pair of shoes
• Toiletries
• 1 diaper, 2 small cartons of milk and some biscuits
• Personal documents and money
• Sanitary pads
• A comb

“I hope we die. This life is not worth to live anymore. Everyone closed the door in our face, there is no future.”

A pharmacist, age 34, from Syria

This man’s father lived in Germany for eight years when he was younger and practicing medicine. When civil war broke out in Syria, the pharmacist photographed here recalled his father’s memories and fled with his family to Turkey, where he met a smuggler who arranged for them to travel to Europe.

With just this one bag, he boarded a dinghy with 53 other refugees and made it to Greece, where they were confronted by the Greek coast guard.

“We didn’t realize it was the police. We were told by friends not to stop because they will take you back to Turkey. We didn’t know the Greek language. We couldn’t understand what they were saying. We held the children. I thought to myself, ‘Let me reach the beach and anything you say I will do.’”

• Money (wrapped to protect it from water)
• Old phone (wet and unusable) and new smart phone
• Phone chargers and headphones (plus extra battery charger)
• 16GB flash drive (containing family photos)

Click here to read the pharmacist’s story in full.

“I had to leave behind my parents and sister in Turkey. I thought, if I die on this boat, at least I will die with the photos of my family near me.”

You can follow the IRC’s updates from Lesbos here, or you can donate here to help them bring relief to those in the refugee camps.

The post Photographer’s portraits of refugees show everything they bring when they flee appeared first on Digital Camera World.