Shooting the right way at the Syrian border

By guest author Deryal Yuksel

12506919_10205606700907547_409107148_nI am a photographer, and a few months ago I was travelling around the Syrian border. There is no way I can go there now. Most of the towns I have visited have turned into warzones.

However, while there, I had the privilege of meeting some Syrian children who lived in the village of Harran, extremely close to the Syrian border. I saw many tents while we were driving near the border, tents that the Turkish government had provided for the refugees.

What should be kept in mind is that refugees are also ­humans, humans whose lives have been destroyed. Thousands of Syrians are helplessly trying to balance a small sack on one arm and their children on another. If they are lucky, they can hop the border with some of their belongings and their children. Not everyone makes it.

Some Syrian refugees try to reach the Greek Islands through the Aegean Sea via illegal boats that are not very safe. Most of the boats sink, and fishermen try to save the refugees but are unable to rescue all of them. Current news reports indicated that many bodies have washed up onto the shore.

About 2 million Syrian refugees have fled to Turkey. Some of them are on the streets of Istanbul as beggars and sometimes even threaten people for money. I personally was attacked during the light of day in a crowded place by a refugee. Also, my dad was attacked by a refugee while waiting for an ATM machine. So, some of the Turkish citizens dislike the refugees, and some citizens feel bad for them.

Some Turks are racist towards the refugees, even though they are both Muslim, so it is frightening to think what kind of reaction the refugees would receive in other countries like the United States, where people may think that the refugees will cause violence and terror in their nation. If there is no voice for the Syrian refugees, how can they communicate with countries asking for help? I believe that countries should cooperate with each other to find ways to help these refugees, these 3 million refugees.

Deryal Yuksel is a Psychology major interested in street photography and the lives of the different individuals she shoots. Currently, she is particularly interested in the Syrian refugees in Turkey. There is a stigma in the country that needs to be broken, and she hopes to raise awareness with photography. She took the photographs in this essay in Harran, Sanliurfa, Turkey.