Life inside Syrian refugee camps

Three years into a bloody civil war, the displaced are still searching for a slice of normalcy

Syria refugees

Three years ago this week, Syria began to be torn apart.

Syrians took to the streets, demanding democratic and economic reforms from the government of Bashar al-Assad. What they got instead was a civil war that has turned cities to dust, killed more than 100,000 people, and forced millions more to flee.

Jan. 9, 2013: A man stands on top of a water tank as clouds roll over the Al Zataari refugee camp in Mafraq, Jordan. | (AP Photo/Mohammad Hannon)

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For those who managed to escape — women and children, mainly, with whatever they could carry — some semblance of life continues in refugee camps throughout the region. Through grit, luck, or the help of others — and often a combination of all three — those displaced millions have sought to create moments of normalcy in the temporary rooms, mud-floored tents, and makeshift shelters they call home, waiting for the day their country stitches itself back together.

Here, a look at life for the millions of refugee-camp residents:

Aug. 12, 2012: Boys carry water for their family at Al Zataari, Mafraq. | (REUTERS/Ali Jarekji)

Sept. 2, 2013: A woman bathes her child at Domiz refugee camp in Dohuk, Iraq. | (REUTERS/ Haider Ala)

Feb. 15, 2014: A girl washes her family's clothes at Bab Al-Hawa refugee camp near the Syria-Turkey border. | (REUTERS/Mouaz Al Omar)

Aug. 21, 2013: Women wait in line for food at Kawergosk refugee camp in Irbil, Iraq. | (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Dec. 11, 2012: A woman cooks food for her family outside their tent at Atmeh refugee camp in Atmeh, Syria. | (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

Dec. 23, 2013: Children attend classes at an unofficial camp near Amman, Jordan. A teacher-turned-refugee set up the makeshift school because the Jordanian schools are too far away. | (REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed)

March 2, 2014: A girl gets a snuggle and a smooch from a puppy at Kilis refugee camp in Kilis, Turkey. | (REUTERS/Nour Kelze)

Nov. 21, 2013: Children play on a makeshift swing at Harmanli refugee camp in Harmanli, Bulgaria. | (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)

Sept. 17, 2013: Children participate in taekwondo training at Zaatari refugee camp near Mafraq, Jordan. | (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)

March 25, 2013: Friends cut a young man's hair at Bab Al-Salam camp near the Syria-Turkey border. | (REUTERS/Giath Taha)

Oct. 28, 2013: A family eats a meal inside their makeshift room in a mosque, which is being used as an unofficial refugee camp, in Shebaa, Lebanon. | (REUTERS/Jamal Saidi)

Sept. 2, 2013: A woman applies makeup to a soon-to-be bride at a makeshift beauty parlor in the Domiz refugee camp in Dohuk, Iraq. | (REUTERS/ Haider Ala)

May 6, 2013: An obstetrician holds a baby after delivery at a field hospital in Zaatari refugee camp near the Syrian border in Mafraq, Jordan. | (AP Photo/Mohammad Hannon)

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Sarah Eberspacher

Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.