Syrian refugees have been coming to Europe in big numbers the last years and especially recently many thousands are travelling the dangerous road through

many countries escaping the war in Syria – the Assad regime and IS controlled areas. This is a very important story to be told – also in images.

I went out to tell my own story about this important thing happening in Europe today. I did not choose to go to foreign countries to document the news story about all these people. Instead I choose to stay here in my own country and tell the story about the first people that fled from Syria – the people that have now been here in Denmark for about 2-3 years.

How are they struggling to find a new life here – while they only dream about going back to their home country.
I choose to go to a very remote village in the countryside of Denmark where a few Syrian refugees have been trying to establish a life in a very traditional farmers area where agriculture is the main income. This is very far from the big cities and tradition is very different that what it was in Syria.

We meet Khaled – a welder that have been able to get a job here but feels very alone because he has no one to talk to and he is struggling to learn the new language. Also Alaa and his wife feel alienated because they are in conflict with the other Syrian refugees because Alaas wife Rahaf did not cover her hair as a “true muslim”. They keep to themselves now and do not have contact with other people from Syria.

I investigated the life among these Syrian refugees in a rural agricultural environment and was interested in how they manage to establish a whole life in such a remote and small place.

SYRIAN REFUGEES IN RURAL EUROPE
Posted by Thomas Nielsen on 6 January 2016
 

THOMAS NIELSEN