Great Britain from French coast.
"When I went away, I knew I will not get back. It was because of the military service, we can postpone it for a time, but in a war situation..."
Abo Hajar life's summary. - Childhood.
M. A. 26 years old, Pastrogor refugee camp, Bulgaria. April 2014.
"They closed all the borders : Romania, Greece, what people are going to do ? We’ll go illegaly elsewhere, but it is very expensive. Between 5000€ and 10 000€, if I had that much, i’d go back to Turkey, learn Turkish and start a business." M. A.
Reception center for asylum seekers, Roissy-en-Brie, France.
"I was born in prison, my mother served six and a half years because she was a member of the Communist Labor Party. I grew up inside until I was one and a half year old. I studied mechanical engineering for one year in Aleppo, then I moved back to Damascus because it was too dangerous. It also became too dangerous... After getting an authorization from the French consulate in Beirut, my father and I went to Lebanon. My mother had to join us by another way... Those few hours where we were apart felt like hell."
Abo Hajar life's summary. - Romeo and Juliet.
A former fighter from Dera Al-Thawra brigade, FSA. Malmö, Sweden.
"I’m 24, I was a seaman ; China, Russia, Australia, Brazil, Argentine, Chili, I went almost everywhere... I was 21 and at sea when the revolution started, bringing wheat boatload to Tartus port."
He went in jail and was tortured. He joined the rebel, fight in battles such as Bab Al-Hawa, Idlib, Aleppo, Latakia. In early 2013, he was with 6 friends in a flat in Latakia countryside. It was bombing around. The flat they were in was hit, he woke up in Turkey, his 6 friends were dead, his childhood friend included.
Abo Hajar life's summary. - An urge of involvement.
In a refugee house, Schleswig-Holstein province, northern Germany.
"I was studying. I did nothing until I joined Sham Network. I decided to join them because I was tired of watching people dying , I choose them because they were strong enough for my protection, ISIS was rising. I was injured by mortar shell. It was in summer 2013, a big offensive was happening in Latakia countryside against regime forces, I was reporting on it. My name is Tarek, I’m 21. I have one little sister, she is with my parents, they are okay."
Abo Hajar life's summary. - Jailed for empathy.
Rostock, Germany.
A Syrian refugee enjoy Murder Eyes show at Sommerfest VS Isolation Festival. Murder Eyes is a Syrian commited hip-hop artist, it was his first concert since he left Aleppo nearly one year ago.
Abo Hajar life's summary. - Protests, revolution, freedom.
Alaa, 19 years old. From Al-Yarmouk camp in Damascus to Ryd, Sweden.
"Me and my family landed in Sicilia. We left Damascus to Egypt, then we took a boat. We switched several times during the crossing. It lasted seven days. Many people died : no food, too little water. Some drowned. At least, my parents, my two sisters and two brothers are safe with me."
A former liaison officer. London, United-Kingdom.
"The FSA, on Aleppo countryside, they won’t listen to you because you are a girl... they would go “Who is this woman talking like a man ?” you know of course all FSA fighter are not conservative, a lot were students. I dont have feeling nowadays, it is like your senses are dead. You can’t forget everything and live a normal life..."
Abo Hajar life's summary. - Torture.
In Wael room, Rome, Italy.
"My cousin Fadi, he was going back from work with a friend, driving at night. Rebels shot their car... his friend was shot in the jaw, he played dead. When the rebels noticed the cross around the neck of my cousin, they knew that it was a Christian. They cut his head off. The army later caught these men, two of them were Chechens."
Abo Hajar life's summary. - To Damascus and abroad.
A Syrian military record. Flemish Brabant province, Belgium.
"I’m 20, I left Syria through Lebanon, my family bought a Spanish visa for 10 000 euro. I took a plane to Istanbul, Barcelona, Brussels. If they find out I deserted, they will hurt my family. I found a job here in Brussels, 12h a day in a factory. One hour to go and one to return. For each day, I earn 20€. No break, no food... It’s an unrecorded job. With the money I can pay for food, not for the buses to get there, if the police catch me..."
Abo Hajar life's summary. - Claiming asylum.
Adam, Rome, Italy.
"The government is not helping, refugees get nothing. Situation here is pretty bad for refugees. Most of them are trying to reach country as Sweden or Germany. However, some of us are just students, with residency permit. We must renew it every year for 150€. Asylum status is valid for a longer time (3 or 5 years) and is ‘‘free’’."
Abo Hajar life's summary. - Settling down.
M. A. Munich, Germany. July 2014
"If it work, maybe it will be the end of suffering." M. A.
M. A. left Aleppo six month ago, where his parents remain. He is travelling in fear of identity control. In this crappy hotel, the owner don’t mind illegal migrant, money is money."
Single men room. Pastrogor refugee camp, Bulgaria.
"From Turkey, the plan wasn’t to get caught in Bulgaria, I wanted to go to Germany right away. Here we got bad treatment, bad food, bad rooms, bad restroom... Yesterday it was better because they bring it from the city, but when they cook here, it is really bad."
Abo Hajar life's summary. - Perpetual debts...
In a refugee house, Germany.
"...at least i have an alternative if they reject me in Berlin...hopefully not. I’m worried... i just wanna find a place far away from religions and politics, I’m really fed up with religions this period i feel like I am going to explode. Man people in the middle east are going literally crazy. I feel like really going crazy, I want to write everything i feel and be able to publish it without fear."
Abo Hajar life's summary. - ...and humiliations.
Syrian children in Pastrogor refugee camp, Bulgaria.
"Our daughter is sick, she can’t breath. Our son got an excrescence. We tried to fix it here, but they asked for medical record... and we don’t have money. We tried many ways, even Red Cross and Doctor Without Borders, they asked for medical record. The doctor are afraid to check on him, thats why they don’t perform new exam... Even if they treat him, then what after ? I’ll go to the border, i’ll stay there until they let us pass or die on the spot."
Abo Hajar life's summary. - Take it to a personal level.
Dortmund, Germany.
Ali, two days old, his mother Fatima and his uncle. Fatima left Bulgaria alone, her husband and children remain in Harmanli refugee camp. They choose to split. Having the baby in Germany, it might be easier to put the family back together and out of Bulgaria. They were without news from her, until she call them crying, lost and scared in the night. The uncle was on his way to apply for asylum in Germany, he was there to check on them. He barely speak english.
Harmanli, Bulgaria.
Two young Syrian talk about one of their project to raise awarness about Syrian refugee : reach ONU headquarter in Geneva by bike from their refugee camp in Harmanli.
Abo Hajar life's summary. - Syria(s).
Batoul, 11 years old. Sandholm Accommodation Center, Birkerød, Denmark.
"We spend 60 hours at sea when the boat engine broke, a Maltese ship found us before the Italian coast guard rescue us. I was with my dad on the boat, my four brothers and sisters were with my mother, but I was able to see them. Then, we spend five days in Italia. From Milano, through France and Germany, then we used a taxi to Denmark. We asked for asylum, slept one night in a police station. I feel safe now, but I don’t really have any expectation for life or future."
Abo Hajar life's summary. - Blood, war, refugees.
M.A., Lübeck. Germany. September 2014. With a German friend.
"So they want to send me to Bulgaria if they want me back. My fingerprints appear to them in Bulgaria. So I don’t know... We have put a plan me and Zezo and Ahmad : we will go to Canada if things got bad, I am not sure yet, but a lot of people have done it, so i think there is a way... From Norway" M. A. 26 years old. November 2014.
Abo Hajar life's summary. - Things you can't withdraw.
Two friends meet again after one year being apart. Rostock, Germany.
A Syrian activist. Malmö, Sweden.
"Nobody could believe that was happening, walls have ears in Syria, they are in control of everything... we were put to jail just for talking politics. Tartus is a strong regime city, nothing was to be expected here."
Abo Hajar life's summary. - What about us ?
On the channel shore, a Syrian lady. Calais, France.
"Some peole didn’t have the choice to fight with a gun. They are many, they also fight against islamisation of the revolution, but nobody is talking about their fight. They still believe in the revolution, as I do." I. B. survivor of Mezzeh Airport torture center.
The channel might become a mediteranean sea.