(Marieke van der Velden) Before his Syrian neighborhood collapsed, before he found himself crossing the border out of his homeland and fleeing for whatever semblance of safety he could find, Badwi was a well-respected member of his community. He was middle-class, owned two garages, and ran another business on the side. The story struck a chord with van der Velden — behind Badwi's silver beard and deep-set eyes, she saw her own father. The two men had once led parallel lives, from their similar professions, to their roles as community leaders.But the civil war in Syria splintered the connection. It was these earlier lives, and what the refugees miss most about them, that van der Velden set out to capture in her photo series Outside Syria.
(Image credit: (Marieke van der Velden) In March and April 2015, van der Velden and her partner Philip Brink traveled to Lebanon, to the makeshift refugee camps that house nearly 1.5 million of the estimate)
(Image credit: (Marieke van der Velden))
(Image credit: (Marieke van der Velden) The connection van der Velden made with Badwi inspired her and Brink to find a way to offer that experience to even more people around the world. During their time in)
(Image credit: (Marieke van der Velden))
(Image credit: (Marieke van der Velden) After van der Velden and Brink returned to the Netherlands, they posted the videos so that their Facebook friends could discover the answers to their questions."Our f)
(Image credit: (Marieke van der Velden) Through hours of interviews, van der Velden and Brink found a world of stories — from 10-year-old Baraa Aantar, who took it upon herself to instruct the younger displ)
(Image credit: (Marieke van der Velden))
(Image credit: (Marieke van der Velden) **See more of Marieke van der Velden's work on her website, and follow her on Twitter**)