Nathan Carr: Introduction
I have chosen her story over the hundreds of others that have been documented because I believe she represents the statistical fact that, according to the UNHCR, approximately 60-75% of Syrian refugees are women and children. While her womanhood and motherhood potentially pose a host of distinct complications in her displacement, her story also takes us through some of the locations and problems of migration that are common to the crisis.
Nisrine and her children are among millions that have fled Syria through Turkey to follow the Balkan route into Europe. The course I have plotted includes some of the intermediary points along this path, but it is important to note that the map intentionally does not include an ultimate destination. Many refugees have no fixed destination, but even if they do, a multitude of obstacles are sure to get in their way. Migration in this crisis is seldom, if ever, a simple linear trajectory from point A to point B, especially as borders are reinforced and vulnerable refugees detained and / or deported. As seen in the video above, Nisrine, like thousands of others, finds herself stuck in between places, in the border spaces, unsure of what is to come.
(image credit: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees)
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