'Children are the real victims of conflict': The global refugee crisis through a photographer's lens

Jordanian photojournalist Muhammed Muheisen aims to bring to life the stories of refugees, migrants and internally displaced people, as well as the challenges they face settling in new countries.

Zawar Khan, an Afghan refugee child chases bubbles while playing on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan. (Photo: Muhammed Muheisen) Source: Supplied

The two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner has been documenting refugee crises across the Middle East, Asia and Europe for over a decade.

10-year-old Syrian refugee Zubaida Faisal skips while children play in an informal tent settlement on the outskirts of Mafraq, Jordan (Photo: Muhammed Muheisen) Source: Supplied

“Not everyone is aware of what is happening in our world," Muheisen tells SBS Greek.

"We always use the word 'refugee', but behind the word, there are people with homes and hopes, people who had memories and families but they were forced to leave their homes and look for a safer place."

19-year-old Syrian refugee Narmeen Zaytoun, holds her son Mohammedwalking to her cousin's tent at the Moria camp on Lesbos. (Photo: Muhammed Muheisen) Source: Muhammed Muheisen

Muheisen recently exhibited a selection of his work in Athens under the title 'Light on the Move'.

The featured images present the daily lives of refugees and internally displaced people from different parts of the world.

The photographic exhibition was co-hosted by the United Nations Migration Agency in Greece.

21-month-old Afghan refugee Anna Rahmoni sleeps under a mosquito net in Malakasa camp north of the Greek capital. (Photo: Muhammed Muheisen) Source: Muhammed Muheisen

Muheisen says he was one of the first photographers to go to the Greek island of Lesbos in 2015, when tens of thousands of people arrived seeking refuge from war, violence and economic instability in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

They arrived on the shores of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey.

Hundreds of people drowned attempting the crossing.

Unaccompanied refugee minors and older refugees offer evening prayers in a makeshift mosque in Belgrade, Serbia. (Photo: Muhammed Muheisen) Source: Supplied

“I have this powerful image in my mind where a group of Greek grandmas were holding bottles of water," says Muheisen of the generosity he saw in Lesbos.

"Whenever a refugee came by they handed water to them, saying words in Greek. I saw a lot of support.”

A boat full of life jackets used by refugees to cross the Aegean sea from the Turkish coast remained on the shore of Lesbos. (Photo: Muhammed Muheisen) Source: Supplied

Muheisen's 'Light on the Move' exhibition depicts refugees and migrants in their daily life. It has a strong focus on children and the way their lives are affected by the displacement they experience.

“Children are the real victims of conflict," he says. "They don’t get to choose where they are born. They want to be happy, to play and have fun. They are voiceless and they don’t hide their emotions."

A Syrian woman and child are wrapped with thermal blankets to after a cold journey from the Turkish coast to Lesbos in 2015. (Photo: Muhammed Muheisen) Source: Supplied

“I want to raise their voice by telling the world that this child has a name, has an age and dreams. The word 'refugee' or 'migrant' is not fair.”

Zahra Mahmoud, a 7-year-old Syrian refugee, poses for a picture inside her uncle's tent on the outskirts of Mafraq, Jordan. (Photo: Muhammed Muheisen) Source: Supplied

Referring to the tens of thousands of refugees and asylum seekers who remain in camps in Greece, Muheisen says that he wants to tell the stories that he says are so often missed by mainstream media organisations.

"So there are so many untold stories," he says. "I am here to report them. When mainstream media go, I am here to give the people a voice and convey their message to the world.”

Syrian refugee Zahra Mahmoud and Afghan refugee Laiba Hazrat (Photo: Muhammed Muheisen) Source: Supplied