Sumaya Agha

Photographer

Crossing Serbia

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Location: Portland, OR

Nationality: American and Syrian

Biography: Sumaya Agha is a freelance photographer from Northern California, who has spent over four years documenting the Syrian refugee crisis in Jordan and Eastern Europe. She is of Syrian descent with many aunts, uncles and cousins still living in... MORE

Maram, 13, a refugee from Dara...Â© of their respective owners.

Maram, 13, a refugee from Daraa, Syria, takes the train with her family from Presevo, Serbia, to the Croatian border. From there, they will continue on to Germany. "The journey has been very exhausting, and the boats were very scary. Now we are going to Germany, and we will study and learn the language. And we will stay there and hope for a happy life." January 2016.Â

Sumaya Agha

The Syrian Refugee Crisis

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LOCATION: Carmel Valley,Â CA,Â United States
SCHOOLS ATTENDED: Middlebury Institute of International Studies California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
PHOTO ASSOCIATIONS & MEMBERSHIPS: NPPA

Sumaya Agha's Projects on LensCulture

PublicThe Syrian Refugee Crisis

A young refugee peaks out his ...-Serbian border, January 2016.

A young refugee peaks out his window as the train departs Presevo, Serbia for the Croatian-Serbian border, January 2016.

Ahmed, 16, a Kurdish boy with ...any. Macedonia, January 2016.Â

Ahmed, 16, a Kurdish boy with a sweet demeanor from Aleppo, Syria, arrived at the Tabanovce Train Station, before crossing the border into Serbia. Escaping the dangers of his home country, he is traveling by himself to meet his two brothers in Germany. Macedonia, January 2016.Â

From left to right are Setaesh... scared for my children."

From left to right are Setaesh, 4, Ali, 24, Sadjad, 2, and Farashta, 23, a refugee family from Kondos, Afghanistan. They are having a welcome rest in a warm temporary shelter near the Presevo train station, before they continue on to the Croatian border, on their way to Germany. After being threatened by the Taliban the family fled. Over the last month and a half they have walked through the snow-packed mountains of Afghanistan, taken a circuitous route through Pakistan to avoid border control, and taken the harrowing raft ride from Turkey to Greece. Â Farashta, knowing the dangers of crossing the Mediterranean, said, "I was so scared for my children."

Refugees arrive at the Tabanov...vce, Macedonia, January 2016.Â

Refugees arrive at the Tabanovce Train Station, their stop before they cross the border by foot into Serbia, on their way into Western Europe. A daily average of 2,400 refugees have crossed into Serbia throughout the winter. Warmer months saw highs of 10,000 arrivals. There is no train schedule-the trains leave Gevgelija, Macedonia (at the Greece border) when they fill up, therefore over the winter two to three trains a day have been arriving in Tabanovce at varying times of day and in the middle of the night.Â Tabanovce, Macedonia, January 2016.Â

A Syrian woman collects warm a...der in January 2016.

A Syrian woman collects warm accessories, donated by NGOs, for her family after they arrived at the Tabanovce, Macedonia Train Station along the Serbian border in January 2016.

Aide workers load a wheelchair...nter, Macedonia, January 2016.

Aide workers load a wheelchair onto a Red Cross SUV, to be taken to the Serbian border along with the chair's owner, Khalid, 55, a refugee who fled Iraq to Syria during the Gulf War, and now is a refugee for a seond time. Tabanovce Transit Center, Macedonia, January 2016.

Refugees walk the unoffical re...atovac, Serbia, January 2016.Â

Refugees walk the unoffical refugee crossing from the Tabanovce, Macedonia Train Station across the Serbian border. A daily average of 2,400 refugees have crossed into Serbia throughout the winter. Warmer months saw highs of 10,000 arrivals. They have escaped their own country in conflict, taken a perilous boat ride from Turkey to Greece, and then moved onward through disorienting foreign lands in search of a peaceful home. Most refugees are headed to welcoming Germany. They are from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, with a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds. Near Miratovac, Serbia, January 2016.Â

Refugees crossing the Macedoni...ratovac, Serbia, January 2016.

Refugees crossing the Macedonian-Serbian border, near Near Miratovac, Serbia,

January 2016.

In subfreezing snowy weather, r...ary 2016.

In subfreezing snowy weather, refugees hike the unoffical refugee crossing from Macedonia across the Serbian border. A daily average of 2,400 refugees crossed into Serbia throughout the winter. Warmer months saw highs of 10,000 arrivals. With continuing global conflicts, the refugee crisis is certain to go on; millions of regular people will continue to seek safety and some sense of normalcy in the absence of peace. Near Miratovac, Serbia, January 2016.

In subfreezing snowy weather, refugees walk the unoffical refugee crossing from Macedonia across the Serbian border. A daily average of 2,400 refugees crossed into Serbia throughout the winter. Warmer months saw highs of 10,000 arrivals. With continuing global conflicts, the refugee crisis is certain to go on; millions of regular people will continue to seek safety and some sense of normalcy in the absence of peace. Near Miratovac, Serbia, January 2016.

In subfreezing snowy weather, a...erbia, January 2016.

In subfreezing snowy weather, a refugee child walks the unoffical refugee crossing from Macedonia across the Serbian border. A daily average of 2,400 refugees crossed into Serbia throughout the winter. Warmer months saw highs of 10,000 arrivals. With continuing global conflicts, the refugee crisis is certain to go on; millions of regular people will continue to seek safety and some sense of normalcy in the absence of peace. Near Miratovac, Serbia, January 2016.

In subfreezing snowy weather, a...ary 2016.

In subfreezing snowy weather, a refugee walk the unoffical refugee crossing from Macedonia across the Serbian border. A daily average of 2,400 refugees crossed into Serbia throughout the winter. Warmer months saw highs of 10,000 arrivals. With continuing global conflicts, the refugee crisis is certain to go on; millions of regular people will continue to seek safety and some sense of normalcy in the absence of peace. Near Miratovac, Serbia, January 2016.

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Public Story

Crossing Serbia

Copyright Sumaya Agha 2024

Updated Jan 2017

Location Serbia

Topics Documentary, Editorial, Photography, Photojournalism, Portraiture, Refugee Crisis, Refugees, Syrian Crisis

Throughout the freezing winter of 2016, 2,400 refugees on average crossed from Macedonia into Serbia every day. Up to 10,000 a day crossed in warmer months. The typical journey went like this: flee their home country, take a perilous raft ride from Turkey to Greece, and then move onward through foreign lands in search of a peaceful home. Now that the Balkans borders are closed to refugees, thousands are stranded in Eastern Europe, hoping to be relocated to Western Europe.

With the continuing conflicts in Syria and elsewhere, the refugee crisis is certain to go on as well; millions of regular people will continue to seek safety and some sense of normalcy in the absence of peace.

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