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What you bring when you run for your life

Displaced Iraqis pose with the one item they couldn't leave behind

Picture of Sarah Eberspacher
by Sarah Eberspacher
February 18, 2015

Kamil Abdulahad: The retired tanner says that besides his family, the one thing he could not leave behind as ISIS militants advanced on his home were his military service records.

(Matt Cardy/Getty Images)In those hasty last moments, there's no time to thougtfully pack a suitcase and get your house in order. In most cases, these refugees could grab only a few small ite

Anwar Nassir: The drum maker said he had to leave most of the musical instruments he handcrafts behind when ISIS militants advanced on his town; after he ensured his family had safely departed, he was left with just a small motorbike t

(Matt Cardy/Getty Images)After speaking with Iraqi Christians at a refugee camp in Erbil, Iraq, photographer Matt Cardy created portraits of his subjects with the items they hold most dear. M

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Name unknown: A rosary was most important to this widowed housewife from Qaraqosh.

(Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

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Anas Khaleel: The student and tiler said he grabbed his Samsung smartphone before fleeing Qaraqosh.

(Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

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Annosa Ishaac: The nurse brought her passport.

(Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Khidhir Badry: The tractor driver left with his picture of Jesus and Mary.

(Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

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Fatin Atheer: The 6-year-old schoolgirl left her home with nothing but the clothes she was wearing. But, she asked her father every day for a replacement junior laptop like the one she was forced to leave behind. In December, her dad m

(Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Najeeb Mansoor: The blacksmith remembered to grab his identity papers.

(Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

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Shony Franso: The housewife from Qaraqosh brought her jewelry.

(Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

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Rafo Polis: The retired teacher said besides his family, he brought nothing but his faith — his most treasured possession.

(Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

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