The little girl who brought her jeans, a man with his lute and the refugee who hangs on to his house keys: Syrian refugees with the precious possession they just couldn't leave behind

More than one million Syrians have fled the civil war across the borders to neighbouring countries

Many could only take with them what they could fit in their pockets, they most important things they could carry


More than one million Syrians have been forced to leave their lives behind to escape the war, crossing the borders to neighboring Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Iraq.

As many feared they would be stopped if they appeared to be on the run, the refugees could only carry little more than what they can fit in their pockets or the folds of their clothes.

They have brought with them what is closest to their hearts, seeking sanctuary from the Syrian conflict in refugee camps and temporary shelters.

The Quran: Iman, 25, pictured with son Ahmed and daughter Aishia in Nizip refugee camp in Turkey, holds her copy of the holy book of Islam, saying it gives her a sense of protection Mother-of-two Iman, 25, holds tight onto son Ahmed and daughter Aishia - and her copy of the Quran - in Nizip refugee camp in Turkey, Iman fled Aleppo after hearing of sexual harassment against women in the city. She lost five relatives on the journey to Turkey but says as long as she has her Quran she is protected. A majority of these portraits were taken in Domiz refugee camp in Iraqi Kurdistan, where many Syrians have taken shelter since the start of the civil war. RELATED ARTICLES Previous

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Next 'It's heartbreaking... the children are traumatised by war':... U.S. Army veteran joins al Qaeda-linked group after months... The pioneering surgeon helping bomb blast victims walk again... Share this article Share Waleed, a 37-year-old doctor, poses for a portrait in the camp’s Médecins Sans Frontières clinic where he works, carrying his most valuable possession: a photograph of his wife. They fled Syria together only 20 days after she gave birth. ‘This is important because she gave me this photo back home before we were married, during the time when we were dating. It always brings me great memories and reminds me of my happiest time back home in Syria.’ ‘I left the country for the sake of my family. I don't want to see my children grow up as orphans.’ Buzuq: Omar, 37, holds a long-necked lute, known as a buzuq, which he brought with him to Domiz from Damascus as his family fled following his neighbours' murder

Bracelets: May, aged eight, is showing off her bracelets in Domiz camp in Iraqi Kurdistan, saying that although they are her most treasured in the camp, her favourite thing is her doll Nancy which she had to leave behind House keys: Although he does not know if the family home still exist, Abdul hopes to return to the flat in Damascus from Lebanon's Bekaa Valley where his family, his wife, daughter and her three children, now live in a plywood shelter



Eight-year-old May is showing off her bracelets, but says she misses her doll Nancy which was left behind in Damascus. Since arriving in Domiz from Damascus, she has had recurring nightmares. Her family made their way by foot and bus to the border, where they followed a rough trail in the cold to Domiz.

Salma, who is at least 90, fled from Qamishly City, Syria with her three sons. She wears an old ring that was given to her by her dying mother when she was just ten years old. She says her mother told her to keep the ring to remember her and she intends to wear the ring to her grave.

‘It's not valuable - not silver or gold - just an old ring. But it's all that I have left.’ Omar, 37, fled his home in the Syrian capital of Damascus the night that his neighbors were killed. ‘The killers came into their home, whoever they were, and savagely cut my neighbour and his two sons,’ he recalls. He holds a buzuq, a type of long-necked lute, saying that when he plays it, 'it fills me with a sense of nostalgia and reminds me of my homeland. 'For a short time, it gives me some relief from my sorrows.'

Her mother's ring: Salma, who is 'at least 90' and fled to Domiz with her three sons and their families from Qamishly City, Syria, wears the ring her dying mother gave her when she was ten years old Jeans and phone: Leila, aged nine, holds a her favuirite pair of wedding jeans, while, Yusuf, right,holds his mobile phone in the building he now calls home in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, which he uses to call his father, who is still in Syria, and to look at pictures of family members left behind My soul: Alia, 24, does not consider her wheelchair a possession which she has taken with her, but an extension of her body, saying she has brought only her soul from Daraa, Syria to Domiz

His wife's image: Waleed, a 37-year-old doctor pictured at his place of work at the Médecins Sans Frontières clinic in the Domiz refugee camp in Iraqi Kurdistan, carrying his most valuable possession: a photo of his wife Confined to a wheelchair and blind in both eyes, 24-year-old Alia says she was terrified by what was happening around her in Daara, Syria before her family fled. ‘Men in uniforms came and killed our cow. They fought outside our house and there were many dead soldiers. I cried and cried.' Alia says the only important thing that she brought with her ‘is 'my soul, nothing more'. When asked about her wheelchair, she seems surprised, saying she considers it an extension of her body, not an object. Student Tamara, 20, is pictured in Adiyaman refugee camp in Turkey, holding her education diploma. After Tamara's home in Idlib was partially destroyed in September, the family decided their best chance of safety was to reach the Syrian-Turkish border. ‘When we left our house, we felt the sky was raining bullets,’ Tamara recalled. ‘We were moving from one shelter to another in order to protect ourselves.’ Covering his face, a man named Abdul holds the keys to his home. Although he doesn't know if the apartment still stands, he dreams every day of returning.

‘God willing, I will see you this time next year in Damascus,’ he told UNHCR in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. He and his family fled their apartment in the Syrian capital shortly after his wife was wounded in the crossfire between armed groups. Abdul, his wife, their daughter, and her children share a plywood shelter constructed by UNHCR and the Danish Refugee Council.

Diploma: Tamara, 20, pictured in Adiyaman refugee camp in Turkey, holding her education diploma - the most important thing she brought from her partially destroyed home in Idlib



What got me through: Ahmed, 70, left, holds the cane which helped him cross the Iraqi border and into the Domiz camp, while Mohamed, a 43-year-old refugee from Syria's Hassakeh governorate, who is the imam at the camp mosque, holds his copy of the Quran

