Syrians show the toll of 10 years of war with pictures

Samer was paralysed, Bakri lost a leg and Rukaia fled to France – a decade of civil war in Syria has devastated millions of lives

Dima Al Kaed, 29, a Syrian journalist and refugee living in Erbil, capital of the Iraqi Kurdistan region, holds a photo of herself dating from 2013 when she graduated from Damascus University. During the war, Kaed lost her parents and her home. She arrived in Erbil at the end of 2020 without hope of returning. "I dreamt of changing the world, but instead the war changed mine," she said. AFP

Anas Ali, 27, a Syrian citizen journalist and refugee poses for a picture in Paris, while holding photos of himself - including one when was injured in 2013 while covering fighting between rebel and government sides. Originally from the town of Kafr Batna in the long-time rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta on the doorstep of Damascus, Ali has lived in France as a refugee since 2019. AFP

Samer Al Sawwan, 33, is seen in the Syrian capital Damascus on March 1, 2021, while holding a photo of himself from ten years prior standing on a beach in the coastal resort of Latakia. Sawwan's vehicle was pierced by a bullet while driving in 2011, sending the vehicle into a barrel roll that paralysed him forever. "I passed out with two legs, and woke up in a wheelchair," he says. "My ambitions and dreams have changed." AFP

Abu Anas, 26, reportedly blinded in the aftermath of government shelling, poses for a picture in the rebel-held northwestern city of Idlib, while holding a photograph of himself when he was 16. Originally from the town of Saqba in the countryside of the capital Damascus, Abu Anas was displaced from his home in 2018. He was then injured during artillery shelling in 2020 and lost his eyesight. He was recently married and has no children. He is currently a 4th year student in law and Sharia at Idlib University. AFP

Mohammed Al Hamid, 28, a former Syrian rebel fighter and amputee, poses for a picture while leaning on crutches in the rebel-held northern city of Idlib on March 6, 2021. Hamid says he was wounded in a 2016 battle against government forces in Latakia, where his brother also died in his arms. That same year, he learnt three other siblings had died in prison after they were detained two years earlier. In 2017, war planes bombarded his home in Idlib, killing his daughter. AFP

Mohammed Al Rakouia, 70, a Palestinian refugee painter from the ravaged Yarmouk camp for Palestinian refugees south of Syria's capital Damascus, stands along an alley by damaged buildings in the camp on March 7, 2021, while holding a picture of himself working in his former studio dating from ten years prior. Al Rakouia laments his losses saying "nothing can make up" for them. "My studio has been destroyed, my paintings have been stolen, and my colours have been scattered all over the place." AFP

Rukaia Alabadi, 32, a journalist and refugee, poses for a picture in France's capital Paris on February 27, 2021, while holding a photo of herself in 2011 when she was an economics student at Al Furat University in he hometown of Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria. Alabadi arrived in Paris as a refugee in 2018 after escaping threats over her reporting about the reality of life in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor under ISIS. Before that, she had been detained for months over working as a media activist. AFP

Bakri Al Debs, 29, a Syrian medic and amputee, poses for a picture in the town of Ihsim in Syria's rebel-held northwestern Idlib province on March 6, 2021, while holding a picture of himself in a similar pose from ten years prior at Tishrin University in Latakia where he studied Sociology, before losing his leg in a government air strike in 2015. AFP

Ahmed Nashawi, also known as Abu Abdo, poses with a portrait of himself from ten prior ago outside his destroyed house in Syria's northern city of Aleppo on February 22, 2021. The man in his fifties, once one of the city's most popular fishmongers, said his home and shop on Sahat Al Hatab square were obliterated in clashes between rebels and pro-government fighters in 2015. AFP

Fahad Al Routayban, 30, a Syrian refugee, poses for a picture the building where he works as a concierge, in Lebanon's northern port city of Tripoli on February 23, 2021, while holding a phone showing a photo of himself from 11 years prior as a Syrian army soldier. Routayban fled his hometown of Raqa to Lebanon in 2013. He finally settled in Tripoli where he got married to a relative, another Syrian refugee, fathering two sons. AFP

As the Syrian conflict enters its 11th year this month, ten Syrians shared with AFP pictures of themselves before the start of the 2011 war, and recounted how their lives have been changed by the fighting.

Speaking from across a fragmented Syria or even abroad, they give a personal account of a war that has killed more than 387,000 people and displaced millions from their homes.

In the capital Damascus, Samer Sawwan, 33, holds up a picture of himself standing on a beach in the coastal resort of Latakia.

That was before a bullet tore through his car while he was driving in 2011, sending the vehicle into a barrel roll that paralysed him forever.

"I passed out with two legs, and woke up in a wheelchair," he says. "My ambitions and dreams have changed."

At least 1.5 million Syrians have suffered a disability as a result of the war, the UN says.

In the last major rebel bastion of Idlib, Bakri Al Debs, 29, rests on stone steps with one leg amputated above the knee, his artificial leg resting beside him.

The former medic holds a picture of himself in a similar position at university a decade ago in Latakia where he studied sociology, before he was maimed in what he says was a government barrel-bomb strike.

In Idlib city, former rebel fighter Mohammed Al Hamid, 28, leans on crutches, and grips a large picture showing him before the war in a military uniform and holding a weapon.

He says he was wounded in a 2016 battle against government forces in Latakia, where his brother died in his arms.

That same year, he learnt that three other siblings had died in prison.

In 2017, warplanes bombarded his home in Idlib, killing his daughter.

Also in Idlib, Abu Anas, 26, holds an image of himself taken when he was 16.

A native of the Damascus countryside, Abu Anas was displaced to Idlib in 2018 where, two years later, he lost his eyesight in artillery shelling.

In the northern city of Aleppo, retaken by government forces from rebels in late 2018, Ahmad Nashawi posed in front of his destroyed house.

The man in his fifties, once one of the city's most popular fishmongers, said his home and shop were obliterated in clashes between rebels and pro-government fighters in 2015.

The war has also flung journalists into exile.

Rukaia Alabadi, 32, arrived in Paris as a refugee in 2018. She had been threatened over her reporting about the reality of life in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor under ISIS.

Before that, the young woman had been jailed for months by the regime and accused of being a media activist.

The picture she shares with AFP shows her wearing a chador and a face veil in 2011 when she was studying economics at university.

Anas Ali, 27, has lived in France as a refugee since 2019.

Before that he was in the rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta on the doorstep of Damascus until government forces seized it in early 2018 following years of bombardment and a devastating siege.

A citizen journalist, Anas covered fighting between both sides and in 2013 was wounded, sustaining face injuries, according to the picture he showed AFP.

In Iraqi Kurdistan, Dima Al Kaed, 29, clutched a memento of her graduation, one of the few belongings she kept after her family moved from Damascus and sold their home.

"I dreamt of changing the world, but instead the war changed mine," she said.

Life in exile has been tough at times.

Fahad Al Routayban, 30, works as a building concierge in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli.

On his smartphone, he pulled up an image showing him in uniform during his military service in 2010.

In the ravaged Palestinian neighbourhood of Yarmouk, south of Damascus, Palestinian painter Mohammed Al Rakouia, 70, stood on top of the ruins of his gutted studio.

"Nothing can make up for my losses," he said.

"My studio has been destroyed, my paintings have been stolen and my colours have been scattered all over the place."