World refugee day 2014

Refugees and displaced people now number more than 50 million worldwide according to the UNHCR's latest figures.

Whatever the reason, being forcibly moved from all you know is never easy, and making the most out of things once you're on the other end is often more troublesome.

Language difficulties, cultural misunderstanding, security concerns, legal issues and loneliness.

Share a thought for those like Bissam (pictured) who spent six years being displaced from his family, his home and all he knew. First to Syria then to Turkey, and finally to San Francisco after long years in rural Turkey.

Abdul receives asylum in the Netherlands

Abdul, an Iraqi asylum seeker I photographed in 2010, finally received refugee status in the Netherlands this week after years of waiting in Damascus, Syria. Without the finances to leave Syria as war enveloped the country, he continued to wait in Damascus. 

Not knowing what the future held whilst waiting patiently in a city gently disintegrating into chaos, it must have felt reminiscent of the Baghdad he left years before. 

Smuggling himself to a neighbouring country he was then able to take his flight to Amsterdam, where he says he's happy.

Despite this being only a small piece of positive news coming from Syria, it reminds me that there is some good news to receive from this catastrophe. 

As news filters through from Syria of further homophobic executions committed by extremist groups, I'm happy to see a friend far away, safe, and in a country that has led the world in LGBT rights for decades. 

His What'sapp message was definitely the best of 2014 so far. Happy New Year Abdul!

"My memories" Hael, Deir Ezzor, Syria

Millions of Syrians have been displaced, and continue to be, with thousands fleeing across the country's borders on a daily basis. The figures are shocking, and appear to continue as the conflict continues without an end in sight.

The United Nations says that up to 1 in 5 Syrians have been internally displaced, and millions are living in camps in neighbouring countries.

These are the keys of just one man who had to leave his home, where he might not return, or which might not even exist any longer. Hael describes his home as the place of "my memories."

Part of an ongoing series on the keys of Syrian refugees...trying to tell the story visually on a basic level. 

Twice a Refugee and still waiting...

Bissam is now a refugee for the second time, this time in Turkey, after leaving Syria last April, at the start of Syria's 'Arab spring'.
Whilst he awaits news from the UNHCR regarding his refugee status his mind is becoming his enemy.

After escaping Iraq and living for four years in Damascus, Bissam felt that his future would be compromised by the revolution in Syria, and that both the refugee and LGBT community would become a target for those looking to scapegoat minority groups. Nine months ago he arrived in Turkey and applied for refugee status, from when there has been no update on his case.

Being exposed as a homosexual in Iraq meant almost certain death, whilst in Syria it became a dancing game to avoid detection by the authorities, subsequent imprisonment and possible deportation back to Iraq, and in Turkey it's a waiting game. The fear of the unknown has control over Bissam's mind, the future suddenly seems bleaker than before, and the end goal of living an open and free live almost unimaginable.

Living in a small Anatolian City in the depths of a cold winter are taking their toll, on a man that was full of life, charisma and smiles when I last documented his situation from Damascus in late 2010. The smiles are now seldom seen, and the nights are long as he considers his options carefully but erratically instead of sleeping.

The regional instability has killed thousands, and many continue to struggle for freedom, a better life and an end to restrictions on identity.

Location: Unknown

After being left for dead by militia men in Iraq for photographing a story about the treatment of gay men, Nasser fled to Damascus, Syria, barely alive. 18 months later he is robbed in Damascus, everything he had stolen by a boyfriend. He was feeling betrayed and impatient, and tired of waiting to hear of news of resettlement to another country through the United Nations.
Nasser wanted to go to Bulgaria, smuggling himself into the European Union illegally.
Instead he went back to Iraq to get new documents, risking his life doing so.
Arriving back in Iraq Nasser was kidnapped and has dissapeared. His whereabouts, his survival; unknown.
I just had a phone call from someone in Iraq telling me that Nasser had been taken away, and that his friends are worried he might have been killed for real this time.

In the search to make a new start, Nasser; a very brave, quiet and confident man may have lost his life and become another number added to the countless others killed because of their sexuality in Iraq. Sexual genocide continues.

He may be alive, held somewhere.
If he's alive, his courage will allow him to break out, escape, and start the new life he has been wishing for.

Iraq's unwanted people

August 2010, Damascus, Syria.
The unwanted of Iraq are many, the diaspora often resettle in Damascus, although some still live unknown lives, and have been doing so for a while.

The man in this photo was a high ranking officer in the Iraqi and International Police forces in the region, and now he lives alone in a single room in one of Damascus's poorer suburbs.

A life of danger and risk paid off with a hefty financial reward, and he enjoyed his time and money in Baghdad. During his time in the force he covertly working as a gay rights activist; freeing more than a hundred men arrested for homosexuality related charges.
Things were about to change, luck was about to end.

He was found out and 'outed'.

Life changed.

Danger was not just a risk but almost a guarantee if he stayed.

Threats came.

Family were injured, killed.

He is gay and Iraqi, something not looked at as possible by some.
Those with the guns.