Lebanon
Life after leaving the war zone, March 2016
Tuesday 15 March, 2016 marked five years since the start of the Syrian war. Nearly 5 million Syrians have left their country, seeking refuge from bombs, bullets and hunger. Many are living in neighbouring countries, like Lebanon where they are forced to live on less than a few dollars a day and are not officially allowed to work. Children are often not able to go to school because families have no money to pay for transport.
A doctor, who is employed by Medair, examines a young boy who has come with his mother to a health clinic that is supported by Medair in the town of in Zahle, Lebanon Wednesday, March 2, 2016. The mother is from Syria and came to Lebanon ten years ago to be with her husband who is Lebanese. They are extremely poor and are able to access free health treatment at the clinic as part of Medairs commitment to the host community; Zahle is home to over half a million Syrian refugees which has put a lot of pressure on services like health and education.
Young girls play a game in the evening light in a settlement for refugees from Syria in the town of in Zahle, Lebanon Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Over a million refugees are regisered in Lebanon but the real number is thought to be much higher. Many live on less than a few dollars a day and are not officially allowed to work. Many children are not able to go to school because they have no means of transport to get to them.- A young girl holds a school book outside the shelter that she lives in with her family in a settlement for refugees from Syria in the town of in Zahle, Lebanon Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Over a million refugees are registered in Lebanon but the real number is thought to be much higher. Many live on less than a few dollars a day and are not officially allowed to work. Many children are not able to go to school because they have no means of transport to get to them.
- A young girl holds up what her family are going to eat that day in the shelter she lives in, in a settlement for refugees from Syria in the town of in Zahle, Lebanon Tuesday, March 1, 2016.Over a million refugees are registered in Lebanon but the real number is thought to be much higher. Many live on less than a few dollars a day and are not officially allowed to work. Many children are not able to go to school because they have no means of transport to get to them.
- A twelve year old girls sweeps the floor of her families make shift kitchen in a settlement for Syrian refugees in the town of in Zahle, Lebanon Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Over a million refugees are registered in Lebanon but the real number is thought to be much higher. Many live on less than a few dollars a day and are not officially allowed to work. Many children are not able to go to school because they have no means of transport to get to them.
- Ali, who is 9 years old, and disabled, is helped to walk by his sister Fatima, who is 18, in the shelter they live in, in Zahle, Lebanon Monday, Feb. 29, 2016.Over a million refugees are registered in Lebanon but the real number is thought to be much higher. Many live on less than a few dollars a day and are not officially allowed to work. Many children are not able to go to school because they have no means of transport to get to them. Both Ali and Fatima fled their home in Syria four years ago when the bombing got very bad. Their only wish is to return home.
- Mohammad Raabah, 71 years old and from eastern Damascus, and who has lived in this disused building for over two years, makes coffee in the one room he lives in, in the town of in Zahle, Lebanon Monday, Feb. 29, 2016. Mohammed owned his own grocery business in Damascus but left when the war intensified. He has subsequently learnt that his families house has been destroyed.
- Mohammad Raabah, 71 years old and from eastern Damascus, and who has lived in this disused building for over two years, poses for a photograph in front of the small shop he has set up in the one room he lives in, in the town of in Zahle, Lebanon Monday, Feb. 29, 2016. Mohammed owned his own grocery business in Damascus but left when the war intensified. He has subsequently learnt that his families house has been destroyed.
- Mohammad Raabah, 71 years old and from eastern Damascus. and who has lived in this disused building for over two years, holds up some Lebanese money that he will use to buy food that day, in the one room he lives in, in the town of in Zahle, Lebanon Monday, Feb. 29, 2016. Mohammed owned his own grocery business in Damascus but left when the war intensified. He has subsequently learnt that his families house has been destroyed.
- Mohammad Raabah, 71 years old and from eastern Damascus. and who has lived in this disused building for over two years, sells some children some sweets in the small shop he has set up in the one room he lives in, in the town of in Zahle, Lebanon Monday, Feb. 29, 2016. Mohammed owned his own grocery business in Damascus but left when the war intensified. He has subsequently learnt that his families house has been destroyed.
- Firaz Hilal, who has four children and is from Homs, poses for a photograph with his daughter Aya, who needs specialist medical care, in the settlement they live in in the town of in Zahle, Lebanon Wednesday, March 2, 2016. Firaz left Homs four years ago after their house was destroyed in the bombing and now does casual labour in Zahle to make a living.
- Fatima, who is 80, fingers her prayer beads while she prays in shelter she is living in in a settlement for Syrian refugees in the town of Zahle , Lebanon Wednesday, March 2, 2016. Fatima left Syria four years ago, after the war broke out. She didn't have any identification documents so crossing into Lebanon was difficult. Over a million refugees are registered in Lebanon but the real number is thought to be much higher. Many live on less than a few dollars a day and are not officially allowed to work. Many children are not able to go to school because they have no means of transport to get to them.
- Young girls play a game in the evening light in a settlement for refugees from Syria in the town of in Zahle, Lebanon Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Over a million refugees are registered in Lebanon but the real number is thought to be much higher. Many live on less than a few dollars a day and are not officially allowed to work. Many children are not able to go to school because they have no means of transport to get to them.
- Amna Mohammad al Ahmed, 32 years old, and who has two young boys and is a widow, poses for a photograph in her tent in a settlement for Syrian Refugees in the town of in Zahle, Lebanon Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Amna's husband died in an accident before the war, when her town was bombed she had to take the decision to flee with her two young boys alone. "Being a woman alone is hard here, " she says, "I am the only one who can make important decisions"
- Fatime Sowan, 33 years old, and a refugee from Syria, poses for a photograph in the house that she and her family are renting in the town of in Zahle, Lebanon Wednesday, March 2, 2016. Fatime is from Sham in Syria. There was a massacre in her community and her families farm was destroyed and several of her family members were by rocket fire. They fled to Syria three years ago and her husband barely earns enough money to pay their rent from working as a metal worker.
