Edition: U.S. / Global

Middle East

The Refugees

More than 6.5 million Syrians have been displaced by the war, according to the United Nations. Two million of them have fled to neighboring countries, and one in three are now living in Lebanon. The three refugee stories presented here were collected in May. By Ben C. Solomon and Sergio Peçanha
Farooq al-Sayed
The driver
Bassam Rifai
The businessman
Aum Nabeel
The mother

The Driver

Farooq al-Sayed, his wife and their three children left their house in Nahriyeh for a camp in Arsal, just across the Lebanese border, in April. He says they fled when Hezbollah fighters stormed their village.

Outside
Inside

Three families share a one-room house. A donated television and a rusted crib for Mohammed, Mr. Sayed’s youngest son, are among a few things the family currently possesses. The mattresses that they sleep on are are placed against the walls during the day. There is no kitchen or bathroom.

Two of Mr. Sayed’s brothers were killed in the war. One of his wife’s brothers was also killed. Her other brother, Mohammed, 22, joined the rebels last December, but was shot in the leg by a sniper.

Mr. Sayed’s family

Living in the camp

Photo unavailable

Mohammed,
wounded
fighting

Mohammed

Fatmeh

Om Mohammed

Farooq

SIBLINGS

cousins

Ahmad, fighting
in Syria

Faiz, fighting
in Syria

Mahmoud,
killed fighting

Photo unavailable

Photo unavailable

Photo unavailable

Nagat

Mohamed,
killed fighting

Alla, killed
fighting

Mustafa

COUPLE

KHALED’S CHILDREN

Khaled,
not alive

Mr. Sayed says he is waiting for the violence to subside before returning home. A driver in his hometown, he now depends on handouts to support his family.

The Businessman

Bassam Rifai, 54, a civil engineer, moved to Lebanon from Damascus in May, leaving behind his house and his contracting company. His wife and daughters came two months later. The family decided to make Beirut their new home.

Unlike many other Syrian refugees, the Rifais can support themselves. Mr. Rifai still works as a contractor, and the family lives comfortably. Their son, Shoueb, had already been living in the Lebanon since last year.

Diana Rifai, 23, just graduated from college. She has helped raise money for other refugees. “She doesn’t like to brag,” says her brother about her volunteer work, “but there are at least three newborns in North Lebanon named after her.”

The Mother

Aum Nabeel, a mother of three, asked for her real name not to be published. Neighbors rescued her and her family from the rubble of their house in Homs when it was shelled in the summer of 2012. They moved in with cousins in a Damascus suburb, but it became too dangerous there as well. In January, they all fled to Lebanon.

Aum Nabeel with two of her children in front of their tent in Anjer, Lebanon.

Outside
Inside

Aum Nabeel described her family’s situation: “The panic, the fear, the rockets that fell on us, it was horror.” Her husband has tried to find odd jobs. But he suffers from a mental illness, and his condition worsened after he saw body parts of murdered relatives on the street. Their family needs food and medicine.

Aum Nabeel’s main concern is the education of her children, who have been out of school for two years. “I told my daughter to read, but she didn’t know how. All of those children used to know how to read. But now they don’t.”

From Damascus area

From Homs

1

With wife and

five children

7

With wife and

two children

4

With husband

and three

children

5

NEPHEW

BROTHERS

cousins

Seventeen of Aum Nabeel’s relatives

live in the Anjer camp

TRIPOLI

BEIRUT

DAMASCUS

HOMS

SYRIA

LEBANON

ANJER

Emad, 18, a hairdresser, is one of Aum Nabeel’s relatives in the camp. His parents ordered him to leave Syria when they learned that he had joined a local rebel group. He regrets leaving his comrades behind. “I was hoping to be martyred, but thankfully God united me with my uncles.”

More Refugee Stories

Farooq al Sayed

Farooq al Sayed
Driver anxious to return home.

Aum Nabeel

Aum Nabeel
Mother of three worrying about her children’s future.

Bassam Rifai

Bassam Rifai
Businessman starting over in a foreign country.