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The legally blind photographer capturing refugee life

A legally blind Syrian refugee photographs life in the camps of Lebanon and his family’s new start in Canada.

'One of the pictures [I took in Lebanon] that I remember taking is this one. [My youngest brother] Ashraf was born in Syria in the year we fled. He lost most of his rights and part of his identity right after coming into this world. He doesn't remember Syria - he thinks he was born in a refugee camp. With this photo, I wanted to tell that he's not himself or the person that he should be right now.' [Hani al-Moliya/Al Jazeera]
'One of the pictures [I took in Lebanon] that I remember taking is this one. [My youngest brother] Ashraf was born in Syria in the year we fled. He lost most of his rights and part of his identity right after coming into this world. He doesn't remember Syria - he thinks he was born in a refugee camp. With this photo, I wanted to tell that he's not himself or the person that he should be right now.' [Hani al-Moliya/Al Jazeera]
By Loes Witschge and Hani al-Moliya
31 Jul 2017

Hani al-Moliya first learned photography as a refugee living in a camp in Lebanon‘s Bekaa Valley. He had graduated from high school not long before he arrived there and craved further education. But there were no opportunities for that in the small tent settlement he shared with his relatives and former neighbours from Homs in Syria.

Hani had fled his war-torn hometown in 2012, shortly after he was arrested for trying to bring food into his neighbourhood.

“That was a turning point,” he says, “when I felt it wasn’t safe anymore.”

Hani’s parents and six siblings joined him in the Bekaa Valley, where they stayed for nearly three years.

“I really wanted to do something, so photography became a life raft,” the now 23-year-old explains. Through a UNHCR workshop, Hani was given a camera and the skills to start documenting his life. He soon became known locally as the “photographer of the camps”.

But what Hani’s photos don’t reveal is that he is legally blind.

He struggles to recognise people standing more than 10 feet away from him and doesn’t see all colours. Photographing moving objects is difficult, so he mostly focuses on still subjects and has memorised more than 10 exposure settings.

Hani and his family were given asylum in Canada and, in 2015, he moved to Regina, Saskatchewan, with his parents and five of his siblings. There, his photos have been exhibited at a gala of the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression and he was selected to be part of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s National Youth Council. He is now studying computer engineering.

One day, he would like to return to Syria, but he thinks that’s a long way off. “I have an ideal Syria in mind and I believe many members of my generation do too. But the Syria that I want, it will take a long time before we can get it,” he reflects. “We couldn’t really protect Syria, or be there for Syria now, but I look forward to building it when I get the chance.”

In Canada, Hani kept taking photos of his family as they adjusted to their new home country. His pictures tell the story of a family that lost everything, except each other. Here, Hani narrates their long journey and their new beginnings.

'My uncle Eid and my cousins are helping to build a tent for a family that has just arrived at the camp. Our camp was made up of about 30 tents. I knew all the people there because we were two streets in Syria, so every new arrival was a relative or someone we know very closely. Helping each other was the main idea of staying together.' [Hani al-Moliya/Al Jazeera]
'My uncle Eid and my cousins are helping to build a tent for a family that has just arrived at the camp. Our camp was made up of about 30 tents. I knew all the people there because we were two streets in Syria, so every new arrival was a relative or someone we know very closely. Helping each other was the main idea of staying together.' [Hani al-Moliya/Al Jazeera]
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'There was no such thing as a recycling process at the refugee camp, so we burned all the rubbish. In some cases, these fires can be very dangerous. It also pollutes the environment. [Living in the camp presents] a new lifestyle. We used to bring the water by the gallon from one or two kilometres away. Every water use was something we needed to think about. You don't really wash very much, you only use water to serve basic needs. They were new conditions and we had to accept them.' [Hani al-Moliya/Al Jazeera]
'There was no such thing as a recycling process at the refugee camp, so we burned all the rubbish. In some cases, these fires can be very dangerous. It also pollutes the environment. [Living in the camp presents] a new lifestyle. We used to bring the water by the gallon from one or two kilometres away. Every water use was something we needed to think about. You don't really wash very much, you only use water to serve basic needs. They were new conditions and we had to accept them.' [Hani al-Moliya/Al Jazeera]
'This is what getting a haircut looks like. Once we would have four or five people who wanted to get their hair cut, we would call this man who didn't live in our camp. He would do it outside because, otherwise, it would be difficult to clean the tent afterwards.' [Hani al-Moliya/Al Jazeera]
'This is what getting a haircut looks like. Once we would have four or five people who wanted to get their hair cut, we would call this man who didn't live in our camp. He would do it outside because, otherwise, it would be difficult to clean the tent afterwards.' [Hani al-Moliya/Al Jazeera]
'Out of school and with nothing else to fill their days, the children in the camp would always find ways to entertain themselves and create happy moments. These are the kind of moments people ignore when they talk about refugee camps. I believe the camp brought people together because when people lose everything, being together is the most important thing.' [Hani al-Moliya/Al Jazeera]
'Out of school and with nothing else to fill their days, the children in the camp would always find ways to entertain themselves and create happy moments. These are the kind of moments people ignore when they talk about refugee camps. I believe the camp brought people together because when people lose everything, being together is the most important thing.' [Hani al-Moliya/Al Jazeera]
'These twins are my mother's nephew's. They were born in the camp and they are still there. I think they're two years old now.' [Hani al-Moliya/Al Jazeera]
'These twins are my mother's nephew's. They were born in the camp and they are still there. I think they're two years old now.' [Hani al-Moliya/Al Jazeera]
'This woman is one of our relatives. I didn't expect her to pull this face, but when I pointed the camera at her, she said, 'If you want a picture to be taken, that's the way I want it to be.' She wanted to make sure that everybody was happy to be together and that even though there might be all these logistics to living in a camp, it's important to keep smiling. She passed away last year in the camp, so I'm glad I took this picture before she left us.' [Hani al-Moliya/Al Jazeera]
'This woman is one of our relatives. I didn't expect her to pull this face, but when I pointed the camera at her, she said, 'If you want a picture to be taken, that's the way I want it to be.' She wanted to make sure that everybody was happy to be together and that even though there might be all these logistics to living in a camp, it's important to keep smiling. She passed away last year in the camp, so I'm glad I took this picture before she left us.' [Hani al-Moliya/Al Jazeera]
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'I took this photo at a nearby camp. This dog's owners probably built his house out of a refrigerator or a washing machine. He has some bread, so you can see his owners have been taking care of him. When people take care of their pets, it means they consider them as part of their family. This is not something that's common in the Middle East. The fact that it happens in a refugee camp shows our humanity and that we still care about other creatures.' [Hani al-Moliya/Al Jazeera]
'I took this photo at a nearby camp. This dog's owners probably built his house out of a refrigerator or a washing machine. He has some bread, so you can see his owners have been taking care of him. When people take care of their pets, it means they consider them as part of their family. This is not something that's common in the Middle East. The fact that it happens in a refugee camp shows our humanity and that we still care about other creatures.' [Hani al-Moliya/Al Jazeera]
'Taking this photo was difficult because I had to be very, very close to the fire. But I really wanted to take it because it has a lot of meaning to me. Just before, the woman had said she really missed her home. You might not always be able to tell from the outside how difficult to believe it is for us to have lost everything, from the houses we built to the lives we lived. By taking the picture from this angle I wanted to show how it can feel as though you have something burning inside - which is how I felt and how I imagined she felt.' [Hani al-Moliya/Al Jazeera]
'Taking this photo was difficult because I had to be very, very close to the fire. But I really wanted to take it because it has a lot of meaning to me. Just before, the woman had said she really missed her home. You might not always be able to tell from the outside how difficult to believe it is for us to have lost everything, from the houses we built to the lives we lived. By taking the picture from this angle I wanted to show how it can feel as though you have something burning inside - which is how I felt and how I imagined she felt.' [Hani al-Moliya/Al Jazeera]
'We travelled to Canada in June 2015. We were not familiar with Saskatchewan, but I did some research on the internet. The weather was really hard to believe - in winter, it's really cold! This is a photo of one of my brothers skating in February 2016. Learning how Canadians have fun was really interesting and it made me happy to show to our neighbours that me and my brothers care about their sports and habits.' [Hani al-Moliya/Al Jazeera]
'We travelled to Canada in June 2015. We were not familiar with Saskatchewan, but I did some research on the internet. The weather was really hard to believe - in winter, it's really cold! This is a photo of one of my brothers skating in February 2016. Learning how Canadians have fun was really interesting and it made me happy to show to our neighbours that me and my brothers care about their sports and habits.' [Hani al-Moliya/Al Jazeera]
'This photo was taken in Wascana park, here in Regina. We're standing all together and we're safe. For Syrians, it's not surprising to have a family member missing, so we're thankful that we're all here together. It will help us in the future as well. Coming to Canada was very challenging. We're getting used to a new lifestyle, so we need to stand together the way we did before.' [Hani al-Moliya/Al Jazeera]
'This photo was taken in Wascana park, here in Regina. We're standing all together and we're safe. For Syrians, it's not surprising to have a family member missing, so we're thankful that we're all here together. It will help us in the future as well. Coming to Canada was very challenging. We're getting used to a new lifestyle, so we need to stand together the way we did before.' [Hani al-Moliya/Al Jazeera]
'This picture is staged: I gave my father the mirror. But my mother doesn't know I was taking it. I was trying to show how there's an echo between our present in Canada and the past in a refugee camp. My mum was spending many hours on the phone, [talking to relatives who are still in Lebanon]. In the mirror you can see my dad, smiling, but also being serious - trying to be responsible and the head of the family. It was really hard to see my dad losing a lot of things, including authority, because of the new geography and lifestyle. In Syria, he was responsible for financially supporting the family. Being in Canada is hard for him because he doesn't work yet.' [Hani al-Moliya/Al Jazeera]
'This picture is staged: I gave my father the mirror. But my mother doesn't know I was taking it. I was trying to show how there's an echo between our present in Canada and the past in a refugee camp. My mum was spending many hours on the phone, [talking to relatives who are still in Lebanon]. In the mirror you can see my dad, smiling, but also being serious - trying to be responsible and the head of the family. It was really hard to see my dad losing a lot of things, including authority, because of the new geography and lifestyle. In Syria, he was responsible for financially supporting the family. Being in Canada is hard for him because he doesn't work yet.' [Hani al-Moliya/Al Jazeera]
'This is Ashraf looking out of the window in our home in Regina. In contrast to back when he was at the camp, Ashraf is now looking with ambition and looking to his future. I can see it in his eyes. He's almost six now and he's doing very well - he's a troublemaker. He wants to play, he wants to get his childhood back.' [Hani al-Moliya/Al Jazeera]
'This is Ashraf looking out of the window in our home in Regina. In contrast to back when he was at the camp, Ashraf is now looking with ambition and looking to his future. I can see it in his eyes. He's almost six now and he's doing very well - he's a troublemaker. He wants to play, he wants to get his childhood back.' [Hani al-Moliya/Al Jazeera]
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