Writing is my passion. It’s my favorite way to tell a story. But man, there’s something powerful about a photo.
Sometimes, it’s all you need to understand someone’s plight.
Last Tuesday, I published my first article of this Lebanon trip. Washington Monthly hired me to explain why the Lebanese government is destroying Syrian refugee shelters.
I went to several camps and witnessed the destruction. I interviewed Syrians who lost their homes. I couldn’t believe my eyes. But, as journalism goes, only a couple shots could make the cut.
So, I created a gallery of some of the most powerful scenes I witnessed:
PHOTO 1: Mohammad, a Syrian refugee, sits in what used to be a cement shelter at an informal refugee settlement in Bar Elias.
PHOTO 2: Alnoud, Maysoun's 14-year-old daughter, has a scar on her hand from the explosion that destroyed her home in Syria, and killed her father, in 2012. Seven years later, her shelter in Lebanon was destroyed as well.
PHOTO 3: After the Lebanese Armed Forces destroyed Maysoun’s shelter in Bar Elias, she moved to another informal settlement nearby. Here, she’s standing in front of the bathroom of her new shelter, which includes a hole in the ground for both a toilet and shower.
PHOTOS 4-6: Syrian refugees at informal settlements have been given wood and plastic sheeting to replace their cement shelters.