In early 2014 ISIS swept through vast swathes of Iraq forcing millions to flee their homes. Across the north and east of the country over 3 million people now live in camps, abandoned buildings or with relatives. The displaced have dominated media coverage in 2016, yet they are almost exclusively represented as victims, dependent on others for aid and assistance. Suffering has come to dominate the narrative of displacement to such an extent that the world now struggles to find empathy. Individuals are too often reduced to a nameless, faceless horde in the the popular imagination. This project aims to re-humanize the displaced children of Iraq, and to portray the other side of the displacement experience; the strength and defiance they draw on every single day to make the best of a brutal situation. Each moment of laughter or love is a small victory against ISIS.
