Undocumented Refugees


  • Photographer
    Gloriann Liu
  • Prize
    2nd Place / Editorial/Photo Essay and Feature Story
  • Date of Photograph
    Nov. 2012 - March 2013
  • Technical Info
    Nikon D4

This section of the project, Breaking Apart, The Syrian Conflict is a collection of photos and stories of men, women and children, some with documents and some without. Almost all of the individuals are living in temporary housing provided by non governmental organizations. However, many safe havens have been funded by private conscientious individuals from neighboring countries. Most private donations are funneled through larger groups. As an example, one Saudi man donated 1 million dollars to The Syrian Women's Organization to provide housing and provisions for widows and orphans of the Syrian conflict who have escaped to Amman, Jordan.

Story

The Civil War in Syria is now in it’s third year. At the time I am writing this there are approximately 70,000 who have lost their lives and well over a million refugees now in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Iraq. The number of displaced persons who have fled their homes and the violence who are still living in Syria is around 4 million. These numbers are rising rapidly every day. The number escaping to Jordan is over 1 thousand daily.

I returned to the Middle East in November and December of 2012, and then again in February and March of 2013. The project, Breaking Apart - The Syrian Conflict, expanded to include Lebanon, Turkey and Syria. I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of refugees and wounded. In addition, on the Turkish-Syrian border there were thousands of displaced persons. All of the Syrian people that I interviewed reiterated the unbelievable terror, torture, and gross human rights violations.

I photographed many families and individuals who left their homes with nothing. I am currently documenting their lives in refugee camps, makeshift homes, and in clinics. I am photographing their day to day life and have tried to capture how difficult it is to survive knowing that their homeland is being destroyed. Many live with the knowledge that remaining family and friends are being tortured and killed.

This section of the project, Breaking Apart, The Syrian Conflict is a collection of photos and stories of men, women and children, some with documents and some without. Almost all of the individuals are living in temporary housing provided by non governmental organizations.

However, many safe havens have been funded by private conscientious individuals from neighboring countries. Most private donations are funneled through larger groups. As an example, one Saudi man donated 1 million dollars to The Syrian Women's Organization to provide housing and provisions for widows and orphans of the Syrian conflict who have escaped to Amman, Jordan.

The situations vary, but all stories involve kindness and sacrifice, and especially an enormous amount of hard work by volunteers.

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