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Photos: A Syrian family finds peace, if only in exile at a refugee camp

The Sweidan family of seven lives crammed in a single tent at the squalid and overcrowded al-Bab camp in the Syrian north, for those who fled the fighting in Eastern Ghouta. There are few opportunities for work and many still walk around with their injuries. Al-Bab is one of a number of towns that have become part of territory in northwestern Syria now controlled by Turkey and the Syrian fighters it supports, after they chased ISIS as well as Kurdish fighters away. Of 66,000 displaced from Ghouta to northern Syria, about 20,000 are here in al-Bab and other Turkish controlled towns.

Updated on: Jun 06, 2018 9:22 AM IST

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A sign at al-Bab camp gate in northern Syria reads: “Sons of the Eastern (province) welcome their brothers from eastern Ghouta.” Some 5,000 people from Ghouta arrived here in April from the east. The population of the Turkish controlled town, about 7,000 under the Islamic State rose to 300,000 as displaced Syrians sought refuge. They are now resigned to a life of exile in the north. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP )

Updated on Jun 06, 2018 9:22 AM

A sign at al-Bab camp gate in northern Syria reads: “Sons of the Eastern (province) welcome their brothers from eastern Ghouta.” Some 5,000 people from Ghouta arrived here in April from the east. The population of the Turkish controlled town, about 7,000 under the Islamic State rose to 300,000 as displaced Syrians sought refuge. They are now resigned to a life of exile in the north. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP )

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Maysaa Sweidan (2R), 27, who fled the fighting near Damascus, is crammed into a single tent in the overcrowded camp with her family of six. The Sweidans had no choice except to leave their hometown Douma where they endured weeks of bombing, near-starvation from a crippling siege and a suspected chemical attack that almost killed their eldest son. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

Updated on Jun 06, 2018 9:22 AM

Maysaa Sweidan (2R), 27, who fled the fighting near Damascus, is crammed into a single tent in the overcrowded camp with her family of six. The Sweidans had no choice except to leave their hometown Douma where they endured weeks of bombing, near-starvation from a crippling siege and a suspected chemical attack that almost killed their eldest son. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

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The tent is divided with sheets to create a changing room and a sleeping area for the mother and father. The grandmother and children sleep in the open area. “It is not a life really. But better than Douma,” said Maysaa, who lives with her husband, their four children and her husband’s mother. “We can at least sleep. The children can at least play outside.” (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

Updated on Jun 06, 2018 9:22 AM

The tent is divided with sheets to create a changing room and a sleeping area for the mother and father. The grandmother and children sleep in the open area. “It is not a life really. But better than Douma,” said Maysaa, who lives with her husband, their four children and her husband’s mother. “We can at least sleep. The children can at least play outside.” (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

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Al-Bab is one of a number of towns part of territory now controlled by Turkey after they chased away IS militants as well as Kurdish fighters. The last town captured earlier this year was Afrin after the Syrians seized it from the Kurdish fighters. Of a total of 66,000 displaced from Ghouta to northern Syria, about 20,000 are in al-Bab and other towns controlled by Turkey. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

Updated on Jun 06, 2018 9:22 AM

Al-Bab is one of a number of towns part of territory now controlled by Turkey after they chased away IS militants as well as Kurdish fighters. The last town captured earlier this year was Afrin after the Syrians seized it from the Kurdish fighters. Of a total of 66,000 displaced from Ghouta to northern Syria, about 20,000 are in al-Bab and other towns controlled by Turkey. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

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A Syrian child peeks inside a tent at the al-Bab camp. With the new arrivals, the camp of more than 280 tents grew to include 44 new communal tents, each housing up to 50 people with men and women living separately. There is no room for a kitchen and no money to buy extra food or treat those wounded by war. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

Updated on Jun 06, 2018 9:22 AM

A Syrian child peeks inside a tent at the al-Bab camp. With the new arrivals, the camp of more than 280 tents grew to include 44 new communal tents, each housing up to 50 people with men and women living separately. There is no room for a kitchen and no money to buy extra food or treat those wounded by war. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

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Fathiya, the 61-year-old grandmother has tried unsuccessfully for a separate tent to give her son and his wife some privacy. In Douma, Maysaa began losing her balance as she gave what little food her husband brought home all to her children.“She wouldn’t eat, to let her children eat,” Fathiya said. This Ramzan, the 27-year-old is not fasting so that she can boost her diminished health. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

Updated on Jun 06, 2018 9:22 AM

Fathiya, the 61-year-old grandmother has tried unsuccessfully for a separate tent to give her son and his wife some privacy. In Douma, Maysaa began losing her balance as she gave what little food her husband brought home all to her children.“She wouldn’t eat, to let her children eat,” Fathiya said. This Ramzan, the 27-year-old is not fasting so that she can boost her diminished health. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

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Members of the extended Sweidan family stand outside the family tent. A suspected chemical gas attack on April 7 killed more than 40 people in Douma. The town was the final target of the government’s campaign to seize control of eastern Ghouta’s suburbs from rebels after seven years of revolt. The Sweidans’ eldest son, 11-year-old Abdurrahman was among those affected. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

Updated on Jun 06, 2018 9:22 AM

Members of the extended Sweidan family stand outside the family tent. A suspected chemical gas attack on April 7 killed more than 40 people in Douma. The town was the final target of the government’s campaign to seize control of eastern Ghouta’s suburbs from rebels after seven years of revolt. The Sweidans’ eldest son, 11-year-old Abdurrahman was among those affected. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

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Abdurrahman Sweidan, 11, vividly remembers being brought back to consciousness. “They kept knocking on my heart... They put something big on my heart and they kept knocking on my heart to get rid of the chemicals.” Maysaa had no idea where her son was until a stranger pointed out a unaccompanied child at a medical unit. She said she recalled the stranger telling her, “God saved him.” (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

Updated on Jun 06, 2018 9:22 AM

Abdurrahman Sweidan, 11, vividly remembers being brought back to consciousness. “They kept knocking on my heart... They put something big on my heart and they kept knocking on my heart to get rid of the chemicals.” Maysaa had no idea where her son was until a stranger pointed out a unaccompanied child at a medical unit. She said she recalled the stranger telling her, “God saved him.” (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

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Western powers accuse the Syrian government of using chemical gas in Douma, and the US, France and Britain have bombed government sites in retaliation. Syria and Russia deny chemical weapons were used. Inspectors from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons collected samples from Douma to establish whether a chemical weapon was used. It hasn’t issued a report yet. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

Updated on Jun 06, 2018 9:22 AM

Western powers accuse the Syrian government of using chemical gas in Douma, and the US, France and Britain have bombed government sites in retaliation. Syria and Russia deny chemical weapons were used. Inspectors from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons collected samples from Douma to establish whether a chemical weapon was used. It hasn’t issued a report yet. (Lefteris Pitarakis / AP)

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