In Pictures
In pictures: Refugees face Ramadan hardships
Fasting Syrian and Afghan refugees prepare their evening meal with the few ingredients and resources they have.
Throughout the holy month of Ramadan, millions of fasting Muslims across the world refrain from consuming liquids and food, and from engaging in sexual activity from sunrise to sunset. At sunset, family members gather to break their daily fast during an evening meal, iftar.
For refugees living in camps – or makeshift homes when camps have reached full capacity – preparing for iftar can be a challenge due to a lack of money and the limited availability of supplies and ingredients.
Since violence erupted in Syria more than two years ago, around 410,000 Syrians have received refugee status in Turkey. During the month of Ramadan, many Syrian refugees try to work around the obstacles they face and continue to fast and prepare for iftar despite their harsh living conditions.
Some refugees living in makeshift homes in Turkey use cardboard boxes and tree branches to light fires in order to prepare iftar. Other families are less fortunate, with vegetables substituting for a hot meal for their iftar dinner.
In Pakistan, there are currently nearly 1.6 million registered Afghan refugees. In several refugee communities on the outskirts of Islamabad, the capital, many humble families, with little money, fast and prepare iftar meals together.