JORDAN
Fawaz Rarhail Turkey, 59, from Homs, Syria, pictured...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
00162529
Al Mafraq
Fawaz Rarhail Turkey, 59, from Homs, Syria, pictured with his family outside a derelict house in Al Mafraq, Jordan, where they moved into after fleeing from Syria.
"After the army forced their way into our homes we became afraid for our children and decided to flee the country. There were snipers everywhere; we saw them all the time. Syrian soldiers killed four of my neighbours and my brother was killed along with eight other people hiding in the bathroom of a nearby house. The first thing we did was to move to another area within Homs. One day we were attacked and all the families went to hide in the mosque, we stayed there for two hours and then a pick-up truck came and asked if we wanted to leave to a safer place. 20 of us went with the driver to Kara Shumshum. Then we moved to Biyda. By the end of the week we were in Hama. There I met a man who had a minibus and he agreed...
Jordan
Detail relating to Fawaz Rarhail Turkey, 59, from...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
00165045
Mafraq
Detail relating to Fawaz Rarhail Turkey, 59, from Homs, Syria, who has taken refuge in Jordan with his family.
A picture of a relative of the family on a mobile phone who was killed by the Syrian army.
Jordan
Syrian refugees Ihsan, 28, and her cousin Sammia...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
00162562
Al Mafraq
Syrian refugees Ihsan, 28, and her cousin Sammia (left), pictured on a rooftop in Al Mafraq, Jordan. They had crossed the border into northern Jordan three days earlier after fleeing the increasing violence in Syria.
"We left our house three months ago due to the heavy shelling and sniper fire in our area. We had a tent and moved six or seven times, drinking water from the springs and receiving food from the local people. After 15 days I returned to my house to get clothes for the children and found everything there destroyed. The streets around my house were full of soldiers. Two huge men stopped me. They pointed their guns at me and questioned me about my husband; I said he was dead. When I left I was shot at, a bullet flew past my ear and I ran. I saw many dead bodies in the street; men, women, and children. We moved south from place to place, sleeping in the open air. If it...
Jordan
Detail relating to Syrian refugees, Ihsan, 28, and...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
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Mafraq
Detail relating to Syrian refugees, Ihsan, 28, and her cousin, Sammia (left), who have taken refuge in Jordan.
A traditional Syrian pouch hangs on the wall.
JORDAN
Ammar Mohammed Alajrab, 30, from the Baba Amr in...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
00162564
Al Mafraq
Ammar Mohammed Alajrab, 30, from the Baba Amr in Homs, Syria, pictured with his family outside the building where they rent a basement apartment, in Al Mafraq, Jordan. They moved here after fleeing from Syria.
'We were oppressed in Homs. The governor would collect money for the regime, and basics were denied us. There were no generators, no water tanks, no electricity. When we saw the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt we felt inspired. Everyday we used to protest against the regime. Then they sent soldiers and tanks to stop people demonstrating. They started to break into houses, interrogate people and look for weapons. People used to protest near the clock in the centre of Homs, then one night, at 1:30am, the army fired on the crowd. To this day no one knows how many were killed. The Syrian Army entered my house one night at 4am, they broke the door down and ordered us to stand...
Jordan
Detail relating to Ammar Mohammed Alajrab, 30, from...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
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Mafraq
Detail relating to Ammar Mohammed Alajrab, 30, from the Baba Amr in Homs, Syria, who has fled to Jordan with his family.
"I applied for passports [in Syria] then stayed inside the house for 15 days."
Jordan
Nayf, 22, from Homs, Syria, pictured with an unnamed...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
00162559
Al Mafraq
Nayf, 22, from Homs, Syria, pictured with an unnamed comrade from the Free Syrian Army, in Al Mafraq, northern Jordan.
'It was a Friday and we [volunteers of the Free Syrian Army] were protecting the protestors from the army. The protestors began to move from one area to another and we heard that a Syrian army bus was on the way. Eventually the bus arrived. It stopped beside the protestors and opened fire, 14 people were shot. I was hit twice in the leg. I fell down and a brother who tried to help me was also shot. We were far from our brothers, but one threw a rope to me and pulled us to safety. In Syria it is better to die than be injured, there is no help there. In the hospital the doctors put children in the garbage bins to hide them from the Syrian army when they came to look for injured people. I was assisted by the FSA (Free Syrian Army) to get to Jordan. It was very...
Jordan
Detail relating to Nayf, 22, from Homs, Syria, who...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
00165042
Mafraq
Detail relating to Nayf, 22, from Homs, Syria, who has fled to Jordan.
"I left Syria with nothing, just this lighter."
Thailand
Vietnamese refugee Nguyen, 21, from Con Dau, pictured...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
00162560
Bangkok
Vietnamese refugee Nguyen, 21, from Con Dau, pictured at her apartment block in Bangkok, Thailand.
"I was living in a Catholic parish in Con Dau, Da Nang, and the government wanted to close the parish and confiscate the land. On 4 May 2010 there was supposed to be a funeral for a local woman but the authorities wouldn't give permission so the police appeared and blocked the way into the cemetery. They started beating people, even pregnant women, with batons and electric rods. They arrested around 60 people, including my mother, took the coffin and left the village in chaos. According to the government, anyone who left the country was an enemy of the people. I went to Laos without notifying the police. The government didn't like Catholics since we have strong religious beliefs. So Catholics were banned from working for the government. We were discriminated against. You had to...
Thailand
Detail relating to Vietnamese refugee Nguyen, 21,...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
00165040
Bangkok
Detail relating to Vietnamese refugee Nguyen, 21, from Con Dau, who has taken refuge in Thailand.
The interior of Nguyen's apartment in Bangkok.
Thailand
Pakistani refugee Parvez Aslam Choudhry, 48, from...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
00162561
Bangkok
Pakistani refugee Parvez Aslam Choudhry, 48, from Lahore, with his wife Neelam Shazia, pictured in Bangkok, Thailand.
'I'm a human rights lawyer. I have three masters degrees in History, Urdu and Political Science. In Pakistan I worked a lot on laws that discriminate against minorities, especially the blasphemy law which is used mainly against Christians. My human rights work has been recognized by the international community. In 2009 I was nominated for the human rights award by the European Union Bar Association. I have succeeded in getting relief for blasphemy victims from the high court of Pakistan and these cases have become law references in Pakistan. Working on human rights issues made me a high profile figure in Pakistan which is why I received death threats. In 2006 my car was hit by Muslim extremists and a passenger was killed. My car was knocked 40 feet down from the...
Thailand
Detail relating to Pakistani refugee, Parvez Aslam...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
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Bangkok
Detail relating to Pakistani refugee, Parvez Aslam Choudhry, 48, from Lahore, who has taken refuge in Bangkok, Thailand.
A family photo album. 'There are a lot of emotions attached to this album of my wife and kids.'
THAILAND
Congolese refugee Beatrice, 27, from South Kivu, DR...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
00162556
Bangkok
Congolese refugee Beatrice, 27, from South Kivu, DR Congo.
'I came into conflict with the Congolese Army. I used to work for an association for the defence of human rights. The Congolese army and the rebels were raping women and the army kept accusing the rebels, but, in fact, the Congolese army were doing it as well. One day in March 2010 the rebels came to the village, stole a lot of things and raped many women. When they left, the Congolese Army came and did the same. I wrote a report about these events and submitted it to the Territorial Commission for the Fight against Sexual Violence (CTLVS). Shortly after, soldiers came to their offices and threatened us. That night three soldiers from the Congolese army came to my house, handcuffed me and took me somewhere in the area. They beat me and said they were going to kill me. In April 2010, six soldiers came to my house, taped...
Thailand
Detail relating to Congolese refugee Beatrice, 27,...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
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Bangkok
Detail relating to Congolese refugee Beatrice, 27, from South Kivu, who has taken refuge in Bangkok, Thailand.
"To get some money I make some scarfs."
Thailand
Qian Ming, 40, from southern China, pictured in...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
00162558
Bangkok
Qian Ming, 40, from southern China, pictured in Bangkok, Thailand.
'I believe in Falun Gong but in China, the movement was banned on 20 July 1999. Falun Gong includes traditional exercises like meditation and yoga and we believe in Buddha and other gods. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) controls the media and after the ban they launched a campaign to slander Falun Gong. I wanted to tell people the truth about the movement but the government used a law to punish me for what I did. I was jailed for six years. I served two terms. First I served three years in a re-education camp where they tried to brain wash me. We had to work thirteen and a half hours a day, seven days a week, and sometimes through the night. You were powerless, they had electric batons. For the second term I was arrested and sent to prison. Here, the brain washing was even worse. We were 16 people in a small...
Thailand
Detail relating to Qian Ming, 40, from south China,...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
00165038
Bangkok
Detail relating to Qian Ming, 40, from south China, who has fled to Thailand.
A book for learning English and a CD about Falun Gong sit on the desk of Qian Ming, at his one-room apartment in Bangkok.
Malaysia
Rohingya refugee, Mohammed Musa Mozermia, 22, from...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
00162554
Kuala Lumpur
Rohingya refugee, Mohammed Musa Mozermia, 22, from Northern Arakan, Burma, pictured in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
^I left my country and went to Bangladesh in 2011 because we were expelled from our land to make way for a new military settlement. Were were forced to work for the army for one to two days a week. I knew that once I left Burma I could not go back . You can't trust anyone, there are informants everywhere, even ones relatives. If I returned I would be arrested and put in jail for up to 20 years and could even face the death penalty. The government checks on everybody and every few months families have to submit lists of their family members. In Bangladesh I still wasn't safe from police harassment. I worked for 5 months in the paddy fields and cutting wood and saved 10,000 taka (£ 70). I paid all my savings to get on a boat to Thailand with 40 other refugees. It took...
Malaysia
Detail relating to Rohingya refugee Mohammed Musa...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
00165035
Kuala Lumpur
Detail relating to Rohingya refugee Mohammed Musa Mozermia, 22, from Northern Arakan, Burma, who has fled to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The office of the Rohingya Society in Malaysia, in the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia
Dai Chin refugees from Burma, (L-R) Rose Pam, 10, Sho...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
00162555
Kuala Lumpur
Dai Chin refugees from Burma, (L-R) Rose Pam, 10, Sho Hlai Ling, 12, Theing Mana, Pastor Bu Naing Ling, 58, and Shang Phu Lang Thang, 15, from Chin State, pictured outside their apartment block in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
"In southern Chin state, Buddhism is being spread by the government who offer inducements to people to convert (over 90% of Chins practice Christianity). In 1981 I became a Christian and started preaching in the villages but they took away my travel documents. I was banned from preaching, I was threatened and had to stop building the church I had been building. I had to report to the local authorities every night and pay them bribes. Many other preachers like me were forced to work and interrogated regularly. I endured this for many years until I finally decided to leave In August 2009. With the help of traffickers we traveled by foot and by car, often by night...
Malaysia
Detail relating to Dai Chin refugee Pastor Bu Niang...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
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Kuala Lumpur
Detail relating to Dai Chin refugee Pastor Bu Niang Ling and his family from Burma who have fled to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The interior of Pastor Bu Naing Ling's home, in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia
Ethnic Chin refugee from Burma, Datt Cung, from Chin...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
00162551
Kuala Lumpur
Ethnic Chin refugee from Burma, Datt Cung, from Chin State, pictured in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
'I was living in Hakha when two people from my home village came and asked me to help them go shopping. The next day I was arrested and told that the two people were members of the CNF (Chin National Front). They interrogated and tortured me for two months and then put me in prison. I kept on telling them that I didn't know the two people from my village but they continued to beat me and torture me by dripping water on my head. At first it didn't hurt but after a while each drop sounded like 'doong doong', I could feel the pain from my head to my feet. Eventually I was sentenced to nine years in forced labour camp. I served eight years and five months and was released on 17 May 2011 after the UN Secretary General asked the Burmese government to release political prisoners. After my...
Malaysia
Detail relating to Ethnic Chin refugee Datt Cung from...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
00165034
Kuala Lumpur
Detail relating to Ethnic Chin refugee Datt Cung from Chin State in Burma who has taken refuge in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The Chin Refugee Centre in Kuala Lumpur.
MALAYSIA
Ethnic Karen refugees from Burma, Ahmin Lahpai, 29,...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
00162552
Kuala Lumpur
Ethnic Karen refugees from Burma, Ahmin Lahpai, 29, pictured with her husband Naw Ja outside their apartment in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
'I was living in Gang Dau Yang village, teaching at nursery school, when my mother got very ill. I went to see her but on the way we ran into Burmese soldiers. There was fighting between the Burmese Army and the Karen Independence Army (KIA) in the area so they suspected everyone and arrested us. They took us to a military camp and that night an officer and two soldiers came to take me away. I was very scared and started to scream and struggle. I managed to run into the forest and hide in a nearby village. I escaped from that village by boat and met a friend who knew a trafficker. The trafficker arranged for me to get out of the country by taking me and ten other people to the border with Thailand. My husband had escaped to Kuala Lumpur some...
Malaysia
Ethnic Karen refugees from Burma, Ahmin Lahpai, 29,...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
00165033
Kuala Lumpur
Ethnic Karen refugees from Burma, Ahmin Lahpai, 29, pictured with her husband Naw Ja outside their apartment in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
A traditional sword and shoulder bag.
Malaysia
Nam DarBu, from Karen State, Burma, pictured in Kuala...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
00162553
Kuala Lumpur
Nam DarBu, from Karen State, Burma, pictured in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
"At the time I was teaching children in the local temple. My parents were poor farmers and couldn't pay for my education so the monks helped me. They sent me secretly to a girls' school because girls weren't allowed to go outside and learn. The soldiers didn't want me to teach in the village as they didn't want too many people getting together and discussing things. I didn't know anything about the Karen National Army (KNA). I wasn't interested in politics. All I wanted to do was teach people - I wasn't for or against the government. The soldiers came to my house looking for me but my father told them he didn't know where I was. They searched the house but I ran away and as I ran I heard them shoot. They shot my father because he tried to stop them looking for me. My mother came to help my father and I they...
Malaysia
Detail relating to Burmese refugee Nam DarBu from...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
00165031
Kuala Lumpur
Detail relating to Burmese refugee Nam DarBu from Karen State now living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The sleeping quarters for young refugee women at the Malaysian Karen Organisation building in Kuala Lumpur.
Thailand
Sri Lankan refugee Paramanantham Dhushyanthan, 31,...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
00162550
Bangkok
Sri Lankan refugee Paramanantham Dhushyanthan, 31, from Mannar District, pictured in Bangkok, Thailand.
'In Sri Lanka I was a member of the Eeelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF). During the election, we were intimidated by the ruling government parties who didn't want us to run. We were beaten and threatened. Every night when you went to sleep you didn't know if you were going to wake up the next morning because there were many people from our area who were taken in the middle of the night and were never seen again. I was afraid to stay in my own house so I stayed with friends or my sister. But one day I was kidnapped. It was on 10 July 2009 at 7pm. Six people turned up, pointed a gun at my chest and told me to get in their vehicle. I was taken to a clearing somewhere and they started beating me with their guns. One of them pointed his gun at my head and was...
Thailand
Detail relating to Sri Lankan refugee Paramanantham...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
00165032
Bangkok
Detail relating to Sri Lankan refugee Paramanantham Dhushyanthan, 31, from Mannar District, now living in Bangkok, Thailand.
"Today I pawned my gold chain for 9000 Thai Baht because I have to pay back my friends I borrowed money from."
BURUNDI
Congolese refugee, Safi Namikulo, 54, from Kiliba,...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
00162547
Bujumbura
Congolese refugee, Safi Namikulo, 54, from Kiliba, South Kivu, pictured outside her home in Bujumbura, Burundi.
"I was an accountant at the factory in Uvira when the Mai Mai came to extort money. My mother was Rwandese so they threatened to kill me if I didn't hand over anything. I couldn't because there wasn't any money there so they kidnapped me and the personnel manager, blindfolded us and made us walk for several hours until we reached the Ruzizi river. When we got there we took a boat to an island on the river where they kept me for 3 weeks until my family paid a ransom. I couldn't move, I was kept in the same hut the whole time and raped whenever they wanted. I was also beaten. I was afraid if I did something I would be killed. I wasn't chained up but it was impossible for me to escape, I can't swim and the currents are very strong there. After my family handed...
Burundi
Detail relating to Congolese refugee Safi Namikulo,...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
00165030
Bujumbura
Detail relating to Congolese refugee Safi Namikulo, 54, from Kiliba, South Kivu, who has fled to Burundi.
A sign at the UNHRC centre in Bujumbura indicates how many buckets a refugee family receives dependent on the size of the family.
BURUNDI
Congolese refugee, (3rd from right) Ndagano Nakajosi,...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
00162548
Bujumbura
Congolese refugee, (3rd from right) Ndagano Nakajosi, 50, from Kitundu, South Kivu, pictured with his family at a transit centre for newly arrived refugees, in Bujumbura.
'We fled to escape the Mai Mai and the FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) who often attacked our village at night stealing anything of value, money, radios, dishes even mattresses. They would punish everyone left in the village forcing the men to carry what they had stolen and systematically raping the women. My daughter was raped by eight men, she was 18 at the time and now she is sick. She has a disease because of the rape. We decided to cross the Ruzizi River and bring her to the hospital here in Bujumbura. Now she seems to be better but her skin is not good and her behaviour has changed. We had spent two weeks sleeping in the bush but my family wanted to go back and sleep in our house....
Burundi
Detail relating to Congolese refugee Ndagano...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
00165028
Bujumbura
Detail relating to Congolese refugee Ndagano Nakajosi, 50, from Kitundu, South Kivu, who has fled to Burundi.
A wound on Ndagano Nakajosi's leg which he suffered after being attacked by a Mai Mai rebel.
BURUNDI
Rwandan Hutu refugee, Kurubusangw Gaspard, 64, from...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
00162549
Bujumbura
Rwandan Hutu refugee, Kurubusangw Gaspard, 64, from Butare, pictured in a refugee transit centre in Bujumbura.
'I began driving for prime minister Agata [Uwilingiyimana] in 1993. It was a good job, I would drive her to her home and to RPF [Rwandan Patriotic Front] meetings. When President Habyariman was killed the presidential guard came to kill her. I was sad when I heard she was dead, there was nothing but sadness at that time. When the genocide started no one was allowed to leave their house. This was so they could find Tutsis in their homes - they knew where they lived. I didn't leave the house, I was staying with relatives at the time. As soon as I could I went back to my home in Butare. On the road there were many checkpoints, they were looking for Tutsis. In Butare I stayed with my family during May and June, but then the RPF came and started shooting people. I left for...
Burundi
Detail relating to Rwandan Hutu refugee, Kurubusangw...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
00165029
Bujumbura
Detail relating to Rwandan Hutu refugee, Kurubusangw Gaspard, 64, from Butare, who has fled to Burundi.
Chickens belonging to refugees roam the area around Burundi's National Office for Protection of Refugees and Stateless. The centre is currently home to dozens of newly arrived refugees.
Burundi
Congolese refugee, Ebumbe Menga, 46, from the Fizi...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
00162545
Bujumbura
Congolese refugee, Ebumbe Menga, 46, from the Fizi territories, South Kivu, pictured in Bujumbura, Burundi.
"I came here to escape the war between the government soldiers and the militias. As a Christian I spoke against the war and people joining militia groups. Speaking out like that made me a target for the militias, they were looking for me.A week after I fled to Burundi I heard that my younger brother had been killed. I still don't know what happened to him. I came here with my wife, my three young children and a nephew. I heard a bit later that my house had been burnt down. We were interviewed many times after we arrived and were given refugee status by the UN. When you are a refugee it is very difficult to support your family. It isn't possible for UNHCR to provide for all the refugees in the city and in the camps. I help children with their after school study and...
Burundi
Detail relating to Congolese refugee Ebumbe Menga,...
© Andrew McConnell/IRC/Panos
00165025
Bujumbura
Detail relating to Congolese refugee Ebumbe Menga, 46, from the Fizi territories, South Kivu, who has fled to Burundi.
"This is my official document that identifies me as a refugee. It can take 6 months or even 2 years, and many interviews, to get this card."
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