Anna Branthwaite

Turkey/ Syrian refugees/ Umm Mohammed (name changed) left her home in Taftanaz, arriving in Turkey one and half months ago with four young children where she was settled in the Akcakale camp.."Heavy bombing started during the month of Ramadan when we were breaking the fast. People started escaping and went to neighbouring villages to hide there. We rented a car and came illegally with our relatives and neighbours." .In talking about her life before the civil war Umm says, "There was security but not justice or fairness. Bribery could be found in every department. Both me and my husband, who is a lawyer, didn't accept this. We received an income from the government but it was a low income. Actually we expected that some day the uprising would come, but we never thought it would reach this stage. I never expected to be in this situation because Syrians are famous for receiving refugees in our country.".Photo/ A.Branthwaite/ September 2012