The One Thing

The one item Syrian refugees made sure to grab before leaving home.

BY BRIAN SOKOL | MARCH 12, 2013

Omar, 37, holds a buzuq, or long-necked lute -- the most important thing that he was able to bring with him to Domiz refugee camp in Iraqi Kurdistan. Omar decided it was time to flee his home in the Syrian capital of Damascus the night that his neighbors were killed. "The killers came into their home, whoever they were, and savagely cut my neighbour and his two sons," he recalls. Omar says that playing the buzuq "fills me with a sense of nostalgia and reminds me of my homeland. For a short time, it gives me some relief from my sorrows."

UNHCR/B. Sokol

 

Brian Sokol is a U.S.-born freelance photographer focused on documenting human rights issues and humanitarian crises in developing and post-conflict societies. Previously based in South Asia and South Sudan, he is now in New York but continues to cover social issues in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East for a broad range of editorial, NGO, and humanitarian clients. He is currently working on a recurring series, "The Most Important Thing," on what refugees around the world have made sure to carry with them from their homes, with support from UNHCR.