

The basics are still a struggle
I was pulled into their home by their daughter Miran, she wanted me to take photos of everyone including the new baby. This was my first visit into the ‘home’ of a refugee family. Their home consisted of two rooms, the one we sat it had one window, with no glass, a second window had been lost to the air-conditioning unit that ferociously blew tepid air into the room. They share the kitchen space with two other families, and when I asked for directions to the toilet I was dir


Desperate struggle to feed a family
The first thing you note when you meet Khowther is that she speaks really good English. She is clearly educated – ‘Damascus University’ she says when I ask her, ‘and then as a teacher at Technical College.’ Now, here in Akre she runs an art club, Castle Art, which works with children to turn the bare walls of a former Saddam Hussein prison into bright colourful murals. The project, the brain-child of Lucy from RISE Foundation who now pay Khowther a salary which supports the s


Migrants, refugees and internally-displaced children
The news focusing on the desperate search for refuge by many thousands of people entering Europe, has seen further tragedy this week highlighted with the story and images of Aylan and Galip on the beaches of Turkey. Young children’s lives have been lost as they search for a new life. The arguments of what to do, who should do what, and how can we support/stop ‘these people’ rages across the pages of the newspapers and on our TV screens. The tragedy is heartbreaking. Internati