While filming Refugee Roulette for Dateline, Amos Roberts saw the importance of the phones and apps that allow them to keep in touch with family and friends at home.
Syrians Muhammad and Alaa el-Din have reached Germany via Italy and France, and it’s all been documented on Facebook, including some behind the scenes shots during filming with Amos.
Memories from france ذكريات فرنسية Posted by Muhammad S Ismail on Thursday, 1 October 2015
Posted by Muhammad S Ismail on Sunday, 27 September 2015
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And when they’re speaking to others still on the treacherous journey, whether they have the WhatsApp messaging service is one of the many important considerations.
As well as keeping in touch, smartphones give instant access to maps and information, as they try to negotiate their way across water and land borders.
And the power behind them hasn’t gone unnoticed by aid agencies - the International Rescue Committee has handed out solar-powered chargers in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria, and the UN refugee agency has given out 33,000 SIM cards to refugees in Jordan.
Migrants have been lining up outside the offices of mobile providers in Greece to buy numbers that allow data and roaming elsewhere in Europe.
And in Germany, some people are given a download allowance, which they share out amongst their friends, while Amos saw others huddling near specific shops to use the free wi-fi.
Last week, Dateline reported on how the internet has become so important during the war in Syria – download speeds have improved as hackers exploit the web in a hidden cyber war, but it has also undoubtedly opened up communication for those left behind.
Click to see Amos’ full story, Refugee Roulette.
