Capturing the moment in a photo.What I wish to do in the refugee camp.

Unice works and volunteers in photo and cinematography within the Zaatari refugee camp, located in Jordan. Here we listen to what kind of life he has lead in both Syria and Jordan.

Younis Mohammed Aharake

Photographer
Born in Syria, currently lives in Zaatari as a refugee. Likes to take pictures, and works editing the magazine "The Road" in the refugee camp and making videos to convey the life within the refugee camp.

Making a hobby of visiting various cities

I was born and raised in Halak, a rural town in Dara. A quiet town with little troubles, it was a neighborhood where everybody knew everybody. There I grew up with my parents and six siblings.

When I was young I was quite naughty, often causing trouble and getting into fights with friends. Sometimes playful, sometimes they were more serious and I would get scolded.

Around the age of ten I settled down, gradually getting into less fights. I began to make a hobby of visiting various cities with friends. Going to unknown places and experiencing different cultures, traditions and foods, and seeing the lifestyles people led was fun to me. I was a country boy, so seeing the differences between town and country was also enlightening.

Damascus was especially a favourite of mine. Damascus, being the central area in the region, was like a cultural melting pot. It felt like it had everything from the other cities and towns i had visited

Around this time, I started to delve into photography. Always carrying a camera, I would snap at the various cities and towns I visited, making a collection that I could show to my friends. Profile shots, shots capturing the vibrance of the city, scenery, I especially liked taking pictures of buildings. Castles and palaces, everywhere I went had different kinds of structures, and taking photos became a hobby of mine.

I would occasionally dream of becoming a professional photographer, but it was not a laid out plan, just a mere thought I would have. I didn’t think much about the future, believing I would figure it out as I grew up. I instead focused on what I wanted to do at the time, in the moment.

Fleeing to the Zaatari camp amid the civil war

Around 2011 was when the civil war erupted in Syria. Continuing life in Syria became difficult, and in 2013 we as a family fled and crossed borders into Jordan. I was only 16.

Coming into Jordan, life at the Zaatari camp started. Adjusting to the different culture and traditions was a hardship. Knowing no one other than family we could rely on no one, and necessities such as food and water were hard to come by.

I felt as if I had to start from nothing all over again, and never had I had such a tough experience. Still, living in the Zaatari camp was the only option I had, the only option if I were to survive.

In the beginning there was nothing to do, wasting my free time. However after about a month, I decided to participate in a photography workshop organized by an NGO called Save the Children. I unfortunately lost the camera I held during my times in Syria due to the civil war, but I wanted to learn how to take photos by the time I could return to Syria.

I also took part in a workshop involving taking and editing videos. The workshop lasted over a longer nine months, in which I created three video productions. Taking photos and recording videos proved to be a lot of fun.

Volunteering within the refugee camp

One day, I heard talk about an NGO called JEN starting up a project to create a magazine aimed at those living within the Zaatari refugee camp. At the time the editor came to Save the Children and held a workshop on how to gather subject matter, write articles and how to choose titles. It was involving, and that was how I came to volunteer to create the magazine.

Making the magazine meant that we refugees were in charge of interviewing, recording, and editing content for the magazine. I took photos for the magazine, and though my photos didn’t always make the grade, there were times when they made the cover. It was a photo of children playing outside in the snow, and I was particularly proud of the photo being used.

Later I learned that JEN was embarking on a project to create and release video content of the Zaatari refugee camp online, so I decided to help out. The project was aimed at capturing life from the viewpoint of a refugee camp resident, with interviewing and editing all done by refugees with the support of the NGO staff. Although I preferred photography to cinematography, I decided that the challenge would be a good opportunity to accumulate experience.

We planned and brought in the subject matter and persons we wanted to interview. The first interview was “Since Zaatari was a desert, let’s bring in people who grow plants”, and we interviewed one of my acquaintances.

At first the NGO staff conducted the recording, from which we would watch and learn how to do. Watching the finished recording was very rewarding. From then on we would plan subject matter and recordings ourselves, at the pace of one recording per week.

Regain the future

Currently I participate in creating content and videos at JEN, as well as volunteering for Save the Children. At the crack of dawn I am outside taking photos, as I want to capture the work of the many NGOs working within the Zaatari camp.

After my morning routine, I spend most of my time doing household chores. In my spare time I like to spend time with my parents and going outside and shopping with my friends. I hope that the work I do as a volunteer will help me earn money as a job in the future.

I work in both photography and cinematography, but if asked I still prefer photography. Taking videos means you can take in all of the action just by rolling the camera, whereas photography means you have that just one chance of capturing the moment. That tense atmosphere is all the more rewarding and comfortable to me.

Looking through the photos on my smartphone and laptop, recalling the shots I took is so rewarding to me.

I want to continue contributing to society through photography. By taking photos and showing the people’s way of life and their actions, I believe that I can enlighten the community. Fundamentally, I hope that my actions can help others.

I moved from Syria to Jordan as a refugee due to the civil war. Although the war has yet to end, I definitely want to regain my future. My eventual dream is to travel around the world and work with people all over the globe.