Latest / History Dark / Reggie Yates spends One Week in a Syrian Refugee Camp _ Insider_ Reggie Yates

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Reggie Yates spends One Week in a Syrian Refugee Camp _ Insider_ Reggie Yates · History Dark

• 0:07
  Speaker 1: They say to understand a person, you have to walk
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: a mile in their shoes. So that's exactly what I'm
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: going to do. Thousands of people fleeing the violence in Syria,
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: crossing the border into Iraqi Kurdistan. I'm going to spend
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: a week living less than 40 miles from the Syrian border,
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: inside the largest refugee camp in Iraq. My family are
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: nervous about me being here and I'm a little bit
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: nervous myself as well because this isn't something that I
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: ever imagined that I would be in the middle of.
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: And this isn't something that I can honestly predict how
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: it's going to go. Since the war in Syria first began,
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: nearly 11 million people have fled their homes in search
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: of safety. The news has been dominated. by those trying
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: to cross into Europe, but some 5 million people ended
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: up in refugee camps like this one, Domiz in Northern Iraq.
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: I can't believe how big it is. It's huge.
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: I'm going to be living alongside 32,000 refugees to try
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: and find out what life is like for those left behind.
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: I'm going in with next to nothing. I don't speak
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: the language. I don't know anyone. There's no one to
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: help me. And I don't know how I'm going to
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: survive in there.
• 1:44
  Speaker 3: MUSIC PLAYS.
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: As the Syrian civil war rages into its sixth year,
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: millions of people continue to flee the country in search
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: of safety.
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: Can you give me your passport?
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: Domiz is one of nine UNHCR sites currently housing Syrian
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: refugees in Iraq. And like most camps, it's now full.
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: This is your number.
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: Okay.
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: Have a seat here.
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: Camp management estimates there are currently 4,300 Syrian families on
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: a waiting list in this region alone, most living in
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: nearby towns. Only those reuniting with family members or deemed
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: particularly vulnerable are allowed in. But I've been told they're
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: willing to make an exception in my case. I have
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: no idea what some of these people have left to
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: get here, how long they've walked.
• 2:57
  Speaker 4: Where they've come from.
• 2:58
  Speaker 5: Excuse me, do you speak English at all?
• 3:05
  Speaker 4: Do you speak English?
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: No?
• 3:07
  Speaker 6: No English?
• 3:08
  Speaker 4: I'm going to try and make this work.
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: It's my first night here, and I need to find
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: somewhere to sleep.
• 3:18
  Speaker 4: How do I do that? Oh, man. And the final moment.
• 3:26
  Speaker 7: It's nice to meet you.
• 3:29
  Speaker 4: Thank you.
• 3:31
  Speaker 7: Can I talk to you?
• 3:40
  Speaker 4: Hello.
• 3:41
  Speaker 6: All right.
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: How do I survive my first night in this camp?
• 3:46
  Speaker 3: I've got to go.
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: It's possible you'll be assisting.
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: You can ask for help from refugees.
• 4:01
  Speaker 4: Okay, I'll ask for help. Thank you, nice to meet you. Hello.
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: Reginald Yates, when did you arrive in Afghanistan?
• 4:09
  Speaker 4: Today.
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: Marital status, are you married, single? You haven't been involved
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: in any military activities?
• 4:17
  Speaker 4: No.
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: This is your first camp? First camp, yes.
• 4:20
  Speaker 3: Just look at your eyes.
• 4:23
  Speaker 4: Do I need to answer some more questions or are
• 4:24
  Speaker 4: we nearly done?
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: No, no, we still have a lot.
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: Oh, there's still a lot?
• 4:27
  Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah.
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: In addition to registration, new arrivals will go through a
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: vetting process carried out by security. It's thorough, and for
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: good reason. The so-called Islamic State are known to hide
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: terrorists within refugee camps.
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: So how many brothers, sisters?
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: I have two brothers and four sisters.
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: Four sisters. Can you list their names? All of them?
• 5:07
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: Freddie gave them way more information than I wanted.
• 5:10
  Speaker 4: This process. You got my iris.
• 5:16
  Speaker 6: Now, everything that we have discussed, we have to put.
• 5:20
  Speaker 3: It in our system.
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: When they finally got everything they need, you can officially
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: become a refugee. Getting in is a bit of a
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: laborious process, but I am an asylum seeker.
• 5:38
  Speaker 4: I have a certificate. And as of this evening, I'm
• 5:43
  Speaker 4: a resident. Hi, I wonder if you can help me.
• 5:47
  Speaker 4: I've been told to come to the reception center.
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: Apparently, I'm going to be given some shelter for the
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: evening here. Sure. As a new arrival, the UNHCR have
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: given me somewhere to sleep for my first night.
• 6:00
  Speaker 4: This is where I'll stay? Yeah.
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: Along with an aid package to get me started. But
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: from tomorrow, I'll have to fend for myself. I've got
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: a kerosene hob to cook on.
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: A flask for water. Wow, this is amazing.
• 6:17
  Speaker 4: It's a proper full-on care package. There's like a toothbrush
• 6:21
  Speaker 4: in here. Disinfectant. All gifted. Soap powder.
• 6:28
  Speaker 8: All right.
• 6:32
  Speaker 4: Got a room heater as well.
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: Everything's pretty much taken care of. I think I should
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: definitely get my head down, stay here tonight, and tomorrow
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: find someone to stay with. The Domiz camp was established
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: by the UN in April 2012. has a temporary shelter
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: to host a massive influx of people escaping the war
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: in Syria. But what was once just a mass of
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: mud and tents has evolved. The 32,000 residents of Domiz
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: have access to clean water and sanitation. 55 miles of
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: electric cables feed the 5,500 buildings. There are two fully
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: functioning hospitals and seven schools, and it is growing all
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: the time. An estimated 500 babies are born within the
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: camp every year.
• 7:34
  Speaker 4: It's a full-on shop in here, isn't it?
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: I definitely wasn't expecting this.
• 7:48
  Speaker 4: There's a mobile phone shop over there. There's restaurants and
• 7:52
  Speaker 4: bakeries everywhere you look. Look at it. It might as
• 7:56
  Speaker 4: well be in a major city.
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: Look at that.
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: Every property is one of them. Their own water tank.
• 8:09
  Speaker 4: You've got electricity poles all the way down this street.
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: It's a street, you know. It's cemented, it's concreted. You've
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: got roads that are serviced. Just like any other town,
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: it looks like the main strips are full of businesses.
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: You've got a dressmaker. You've got someone selling furniture just
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: over there. And all these little slip roads are residential.
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: When I think refugee camp, I didn't think this. I
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: didn't think they'd be selling 55 inch plasma screens.
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: When I was.
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: Packing, I figured, just in case, I'll take a pair
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: of gloves.
• 9:03
  Speaker 4: Hello. And a hat.
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: And it is freezing the minute the sun goes down.
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: I'm so glad I got somewhere to sleep.
• 9:11
  Speaker 4: Tonight as well.
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: Temperatures at this time of year often drop below freezing.
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: I'm grateful for my temporary accommodation. It's technically emergency, emergency accommodation,
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: so I've only got my bed for the one night.
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: The next few days, the rest of the week, I guess,
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: I'm fending for myself.
• 9:41
  Speaker 7: I feel proper ropey though, jeez.
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: Just crusty and grimy.
• 9:59
  Speaker 4: Sort of like I want to just have a shower.
• 10:03
  Speaker 7: I don't think that there are any.
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: My plan is to get out there and find someone
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: that can let me bunk up for the night. The
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: camp has 10 main roads and over 100 side streets.
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: Even though roughly 40% of residents travel outside the camp
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: for work, Domiz One has hundreds of small businesses, ranging
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: from mobile phone shops to restaurants, barbers to wedding dress shops.
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: You've got newborns right the way through to people going
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: to school, getting told off in the street. and just
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: living out their lives normally as if they would anywhere else.
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: But people are going and coming. You know, it's not
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: just people staying here, trapped. They're actually getting on buses
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: just like that one and going to work in nearby towns.
• 11:09
  Speaker 4: So there's a thriving economy. There are thriving people.
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: And there are, to my surprise, people who have decided
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: that this is home, which is why they're building properties
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: just like that one. I've been told about an area
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: in the camp reserved for single men, where I might
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: have a bit of luck finding somewhere to crash tonight.
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: I've also managed to pick up a translator for the day,
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: which I'm hoping will make my life that little bit easier.
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: Look at this, you've got literally a tent.
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: It's like tarpaulin, it's.
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: Sheets, it's blankets. It's whatever they can find to try
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: and keep dry. And an outdoor toilet that it seems
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: like loads of men are sharing. Look at that. Literally
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: siphoned electricity off of the light and whacked one of
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: these in to divvy it up to different tents.
• 12:03
  Speaker 4: That's genius. Probably shouldn't touch it. Let me see if
• 12:09
  Speaker 4: he's in. Is this your tent? Good morning. Is this
• 12:20
  Speaker 4: your tent? Right. Do you mind if I come in?
• 12:25
  Speaker 4: Can I see your home? Amazing. I'll take my shoes off.
• 12:34
  Speaker 4: There we go. There we go. What's your name? Ghazwan.
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: How do you say that?
• 12:42
  Speaker 4: My name is Ghazwan. Ghazwan. Ghazwan, okay.
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: How long have you lived here? Do you think that
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: you can go back home to Syria?
• 12:55
  Speaker 9: So were they trying to force you to join the military?
• 12:57
  Speaker 4: Wow.
• 12:57
  Speaker 9: Most of the people that have lived here for a
• 13:00
  Speaker 9: long period.
• 13:01
  Speaker 4: Of time.
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: They eventually build a house. Is that what you're trying
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: to do? Or what's the reason that you've got a
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: temporary structure?
• 13:33
  Speaker 9: So I'm trying to find somewhere to stay. If it's
• 13:35
  Speaker 9: not too uncomfortable for you, would you be OK with
• 13:38
  Speaker 9: me maybe sharing your floor this evening?
• 13:39
  Speaker 4: Thank you so much.
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: There are 5,148 individual homes in Domiz, which vary from
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: semi-permanent concrete buildings to semi-permanent tents to more basic dwellings
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: for newer arrivals. But the priority for upgraded homes is
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: given to families with children.
• 14:22
  Speaker 4: This way.
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: Hazwan is still single. But he has managed to secure
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: a plot of land on which he plans to put
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: up one of the UNHCR's larger, more comfortable tents. Just
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: how big is this tent then? The tents are free,
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: one of the benefits of being granted refugee status. Every
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: resident staying in Domiz is entitled to free health care,
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: free schooling, free water and electricity.
• 14:55
  Speaker 9: He doesn't want any money?
• 14:55
  Speaker 4: Why did he not take any money? My friend. It's
• 15:30
  Speaker 4: so hard to tell what's what. That's the UN, right? OK, yes.
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: I've been told that the local barber here is tying
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: the knot later this week, so I've decided to drop
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: in and see if I can secure an invite.
• 15:44
  Speaker 4: Hello. Is this your place? OK. So you're getting married
• 15:50
  Speaker 4: this week?
• 15:50
  Speaker 7: Congratulations.
• 15:52
  Speaker 4: Congratulations. How are you feeling about the wedding?
• 16:00
  Speaker 2: I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: go abroad.
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: I'm not going abroad.
• 16:03
  Speaker 2: I'm going to Britain. I've been here for about a
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: year and a half.
• 16:07
  Speaker 4: I've been here for about three months now. So you'd
• 16:25
  Speaker 4: have to do it illegally? So what is a wedding
• 16:29
  Speaker 4: in Dumizh actually like?
• 16:29
  Speaker 2: It's a wedding.
• 16:30
  Speaker 4: It's a wedding.
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: Well, look, your wedding sounds amazing. It might be a
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: little forward of me to ask, but I'm not here
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: for very long.
• 17:03
  Speaker 4: I go on Friday.
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: Would it be possible to come to the wedding on Thursday?
• 17:08
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: Yeah?
• 17:12
  Speaker 4: Thank you. That's really kind. Well, I'm excited for you.
• 17:17
  Speaker 4: Take care.
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: Chatting to barbers about their weddings. it's easy to fool
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: yourself into thinking you're living in a normal Middle Eastern town.
• 17:26
  Speaker 4: Can I get curry?
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: For just an hour down the road, a vicious battle
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: is taking place to control the city of Mosul, with
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: Iraqi and Kurdish forces fighting to drive Islamic State out
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: of the region.
• 17:42
  Speaker 4: The entire time I've.
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: Been sat here eating my lunch, this lady's face.
• 17:49
  Speaker 4: Keeps appearing on the screen, You don't have to be
• 17:52
  Speaker 4: a genius to work it out. She's a reporter that's
• 17:54
  Speaker 4: actually died, and today's her funeral.
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: And it looks like she's actually died in a war zone.
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: I think it's actually Mosul that she's in, which is
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: 20-odd miles from where we are now. If she's not safe,
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: how safe am I? I'm heading back to meet Hazwar,
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: who's kindly agreed to put me up for the night
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: in his tent. really out of order turning up at
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: Haswans without absolutely anything to give him. I'm tempted to
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: buy him some bread. Refugees are entitled to the equivalent
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: of 15 pounds per person a month in food vouchers.
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: But I get the impression that it doesn't stretch very far.
• 18:36
  Speaker 4: How much for one?
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: Even if you can work out how to spend it.
• 18:39
  Speaker 4: 100, how much?
• 18:40
  Speaker 6: 50.
• 18:41
  Speaker 4: I don't know.
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: What's happened here.
• 18:47
  Speaker 4: Oh, no, no, I don't want five. No, no, no,
• 18:49
  Speaker 4: I don't want five. Just one, yeah. Translation. No, no, no, no, no.
• 18:54
  Speaker 4: I need one. One.
• 18:57
  Speaker 6: How much?
• 18:57
  Speaker 4: Oh, go on, you buy one. Hello. You do it.
• 19:00
  Speaker 4: How much did you pay? Man, I didn't even see
• 19:03
  Speaker 4: what he got out.
• 19:07
  Speaker 6: Is that it?
• 19:08
  Speaker 4: That's how much it costs? Thank you.
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: I know that this place is one of these left turns, but.
• 19:32
  Speaker 4: I don't know which one. Is it this one? I
• 19:37
  Speaker 4: think it's this one.
• 19:38
  Speaker 3: That's one.
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: Just a little thank you.
• 19:44
  Speaker 4: Thank you for letting me stay.
• 19:46
  Speaker 3: Ah, there we go.
• 19:52
  Speaker 4: There we go.
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: So, no lights, no heating? So when that happens, how
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: cold do you get at night?
• 20:00
  Speaker 4: I don't know.
• 20:02
  Speaker 6: I don't know.
• 20:02
  Speaker 4: I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: And what was it that made you realize you needed
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: to leave your home country?
• 20:14
  Speaker 9: When I first came to Syria, I was a Turk.
• 20:16
  Speaker 9: I was a Turk for two reasons. First, I didn't
• 20:19
  Speaker 9: know where I was going. I didn't know where I
• 20:21
  Speaker 9: was going. I didn't know where I was going. I
• 20:23
  Speaker 9: didn't know where I was going. I didn't know where
• 20:25
  Speaker 9: I was going. I didn't know where I was.
• 20:30
  Speaker 6: Going.
• 20:30
  Speaker 9: I didn't know where I was going.
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: I didn't know where I was going.
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: When you realized that you needed to leave Syria at
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: 18 years old, what was it like with your parents
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: when you finally said goodbye?
• 20:52
  Speaker 9: When I left Syria, I didn't know what to do
• 20:53
  Speaker 9: with my family. But from the very beginning, we were
• 21:10
  Speaker 9: able to do it.
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: We were able to do it.
• 21:12
  Speaker 4: We were able to do it.
• 21:14
  Speaker 2: We were able to do it.
• 21:36
  Speaker 9: I can't even begin to understand how you might feel
• 21:39
  Speaker 9: with everything that you've experienced.
• 22:20
  Speaker 4: It got cold last night, didn't it? All right.
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: I'm going to try and get started for the day.
• 22:28
  Speaker 4: Thank you again for letting me sleep here last night.
• 22:30
  Speaker 4: I appreciate it. I don't remember the last time I
• 22:40
  Speaker 4: was that cold.
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: Every time I started to nod off, I'd feel the
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: cold wake up and instantly think, where the hell am I?
• 22:48
  Speaker 4: What am I doing?
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: And realize how alien this environment feels, but also how
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: uncomfortable it actually is, you know?
• 22:58
  Speaker 4: It's a bit embarrassing, actually.
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: I caught myself looking at pictures of my family, and
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: I think that that came off the back of what
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: he was saying about his. Having the one picture of
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: his family was just too painful, so he cut it up.
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: I love my family so much and I'm part of
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: a big family. I've got a lot of siblings and
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: in my toughest moments, you know, they pick me up,
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: they help me. So for him to be in this
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: environment and to not have any family here, I don't
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: know how I'd manage that. Home could become a sense
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: of pain because after a certain amount of time, I
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: think you'd have to start telling yourself you might not
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: actually go home. You might not actually get to see
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: those people again. And he's just one of 30-odd thousand
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: people in here. I'm sure he's not the only one
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: that feels that way.
• 24:07
  Speaker 4: Can I help in any way at all?
• 24:08
  Speaker 3: No.
• 24:11
  Speaker 4: No, I insist. Is that how it works here then?
• 24:21
  Speaker 4: Do people just help each other for free?
• 24:24
  Speaker 9: Let's take this.
• 24:34
  Speaker 4: Back.
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: As the eldest son, Hazwan is expected to provide for
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: his parents and siblings in Syria. He sends every spare
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: penny he earns from picking up the odd construction job
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: back home to his family, where earning an income It's
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: virtually impossible. As time's gone on here, have you become
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: less and less hopeful that you'll ever return home?
• 25:01
  Speaker 4: I've been living in Syria for two years now.
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: Getting home to family might not be an option, but
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: there is a route out. Smugglers operating within the camp
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: offer an illegal service, taking refugees across the border into
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: Turkey and beyond. It's a vast criminal network stretching across Europe,
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: worth an estimated £ 4 billion. Many people here are planning
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: to make the journey, including Vandal, the groom I met yesterday.
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: But what exactly does that entail?
• 26:00
  Speaker 4: Hello, you look like you're having a good time. Good
• 26:02
  Speaker 4: old chap. How are you doing? I'm Reggie. What's your name?
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: I've been told to talk to a man called Mohammed,
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: who lives in the northern edge of the camp.
• 26:11
  Speaker 4: Wow, look at this. This is lovely. This is really comfortable.
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: This feels like the most complete home that I've walked
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: into since I've been here. You've got trees outside, there's
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: a separate kitchen, someone was cooking food.
• 26:30
  Speaker 4: How many people live here?
• 26:48
  Speaker 8: The whole world wanted to go to Europe. They wanted
• 26:50
  Speaker 8: to go to Europe. They wanted to go to Europe.
• 26:53
  Speaker 8: They wanted to go to Europe. They wanted to go
• 26:55
  Speaker 8: to Europe. They wanted to go to Europe. I was
• 27:15
  Speaker 8: born in 2015. I was born in 2015. I was
• 27:17
  Speaker 8: born in 2015. I was born in 2015. I was
• 27:19
  Speaker 8: born in 2015.
• 27:44
  Speaker 2: Thank you.
• 27:45
  Speaker 4: Thank you. Do you want to get some air?
• 27:46
  Speaker 8: Do you.
• 27:48
  Speaker 4: Want to take two minutes and.
• 27:51
  Speaker 3: Get some air?
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much for speaking to me.
• 28:26
  Speaker 4: Take care again.
• 28:27
  Speaker 8: Take care.
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: I think like everyone else, I've seen pictures on the
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: news of refugees trying to find a new home in Europe,
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: going by boat.
• 28:40
  Speaker 4: And unfortunately not everyone making.
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: Obviously there's that famous image of that young child on
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: the beach and that's just one story you know to
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: actually sit down with a family who who've lost someone.
• 28:55
  Speaker 4: To a similar tragedy is um i.
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: Can't even really put it into words i don't know
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: i felt that i knew how i felt about this
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: situation and how i felt about I felt about refugees
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: trying to make it into Europe.
• 29:15
  Speaker 4: Now I know how I really feel.
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: Kind of ironic, really, isn't it, when you think that
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: in this environment, you've got all of these people who
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: have pretty much come here with nothing, yet they're willing
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: to help each other. And when you think about people
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: from rich countries who have the space and who have
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: the funds to help.
• 29:34
  Speaker 4: Them, we don't want to. It's just a bit shit,
• 29:38
  Speaker 4: isn't it?
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: I've been watching these birds fly over Donny's all day,
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: and I was wondering where they were going to, and
• 29:57
  Speaker 1: it looks like they've been coming here.
• 30:00
  Speaker 4: Excuse me. Where did all of these birds come from?
• 30:04
  Speaker 4: Do you breed? Are you calling them in now? I'm Reggie,
• 30:12
  Speaker 4: by the way. What's your name? Amir. So tell me
• 30:15
  Speaker 4: about these birds. I mean, you've got hundreds. How did
• 30:18
  Speaker 4: you end up having this many? I was born here.
• 30:22
  Speaker 4: I was born here. I was born here. I was
• 30:25
  Speaker 4: born here. I was born here. So these birds kept
• 30:29
  Speaker 4: you here?
• 30:30
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 30:58
  Speaker 1: Do you think many people here are of the same
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: mindset as you, that this is home now?
• 31:04
  Speaker 4: Yes, my father is here.
• 31:06
  Speaker 10: I want to have a good relationship with my family.
• 31:12
  Speaker 10: I want to have a good relationship with my family.
• 31:15
  Speaker 10: I want to have a good relationship with my family.
• 31:19
  Speaker 10: I want to have a good relationship with my family.
• 31:23
  Speaker 10: I want to have a good relationship with my family.
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: Whatever shape the roots that you put down take, roots
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: are roots, man. And if you've got something that makes
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: your situation feel like home.
• 31:42
  Speaker 4: Thank you so much, cup of chai. You're not going
• 31:45
  Speaker 4: to leave. Why would you? Cheers. Pleasure to meet you.
• 31:53
  Speaker 4: I'll keep an eye out for the birds, OK? If
• 31:55
  Speaker 4: I see the birds, I'll know where they're going.
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: It's hard to say what I'd do if I was
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: stuck in this situation.
• 32:09
  Speaker 4: Onions. This one. You're not happy with that?
• 32:12
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 32:12
  Speaker 4: Tomatoes, you said?
• 32:13
  Speaker 6: Tomatoes.
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: From what I've heard today, to the people living here,
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: Europe is a sort of pipe dream.
• 32:23
  Speaker 4: Can I cut anything?
• 32:26
  Speaker 2: Cut potatoes?
• 32:28
  Speaker 1: But it's a dream that can all too easily get
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: you killed.
• 32:31
  Speaker 2: There we go.
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: So it's alarming to hear that Hazwan is considering it.
• 32:38
  Speaker 4: Yeah, please.
• 33:07
  Speaker 2: Let's see.
• 33:11
  Speaker 4: Yeah, he's got a nice little set-up. That's good. It
• 33:18
  Speaker 4: sounds like you're risking a lot.
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: I mean, do you not worry that it could go
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: wrong for you?
• 33:24
  Speaker 4: MUSIC PLAYS See you in a bit.
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: Waking up this morning was a really strange feeling because
• 34:07
  Speaker 1: it's the most comfortable I've felt.
• 34:11
  Speaker 4: Since being here.
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: I don't know if every day it's getting easier or
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: if on some subconscious level I've finally accepted that this
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: is my new normality. Hazwan has built a home here,
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: a temporary one, albeit, And he's now been moved up
• 34:25
  Speaker 1: the street where he's going to build something a little
• 34:26
  Speaker 1: bit more strong, a little bit bigger.
• 34:28
  Speaker 4: But to me, it's almost like admitting defeat.
• 34:31
  Speaker 1: Because the minute that you succumb and allow yourself to
• 34:37
  Speaker 1: put down roots, the chances of you going back home
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: or finding home somewhere else, like in Europe or America,
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: pretty much getting unavoidable. So far, Because I've been staying
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: in an area for single guys, I've mostly been talking
• 34:57
  Speaker 1: to men in the camp. But this morning, I've been
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: introduced to a young woman, Fatima, a 19-year-old who came
• 35:04
  Speaker 1: here six years ago.
• 35:06
  Speaker 4: You speak really good English. Where did you learn to
• 35:09
  Speaker 4: speak it? Harry Potter.
• 35:13
  Speaker 3: And Disney.
• 35:14
  Speaker 6: And that's really helping.
• 35:18
  Speaker 4: Are you married? No, thank you.
• 35:20
  Speaker 6: Thank God I'm single.
• 35:23
  Speaker 4: Yeah. I don't like marry, no. Why not?
• 35:26
  Speaker 6: No, because I will study.
• 35:28
  Speaker 4: Oh.
• 35:28
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 35:29
  Speaker 4: Okay. So if you get married, you can't continue?
• 35:31
  Speaker 6: Yeah, because his husband don't like his wife to working
• 35:37
  Speaker 6: and study. Yeah. Right.
• 35:39
  Speaker 4: So what do you want to do then?
• 35:41
  Speaker 1: If you don't want to get married and you want
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: to study, what do you want to go on to do?
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: I want to study.
• 35:45
  Speaker 6: I want to be a translator president.
• 35:48
  Speaker 8: Yeah?
• 35:48
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 35:49
  Speaker 4: Are you studying hard then? You're doing well at school?
• 35:50
  Speaker 6: Yeah, and I'm training yoga.
• 35:53
  Speaker 4: Oh, right.
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 35:54
  Speaker 4: Well, you're a proper modern woman.
• 35:56
  Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: Fatima is resolutely single, but with Ndomiz, she's unusual. Families
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: struggling to cope financially have increasingly seen marriage as a
• 36:07
  Speaker 1: way of looking after their daughters. So what is it
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: like to be a 19-year-old girl in Ndomiz?
• 36:13
  Speaker 6: I don't know.
• 36:15
  Speaker 4: I don't know.
• 36:17
  Speaker 6: I never thought that divorce would be an issue here.
• 36:47
  Speaker 1: Syrians have traditionally married young. But there has been an
• 36:50
  Speaker 1: alarming rise in the number of child brides within the
• 36:53
  Speaker 1: refugee community, with reports of girls as young as 12
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: being married.
• 37:02
  Speaker 6: My mum, you know, she's married in 13. Sorry, yeah, yeah, 13.
• 37:10
  Speaker 1: Is that why you think they're so open to you
• 37:12
  Speaker 1: choosing when you get married as opposed to them pushing you.
• 37:15
  Speaker 4: To do it younger?
• 37:27
  Speaker 6: My father tell me, well, I'm married, but as you like.
• 37:31
  Speaker 2: As you like.
• 37:32
  Speaker 4: That's good. That's good.
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: In a camp like the Miz, how.
• 37:39
  Speaker 4: Do you meet someone?
• 37:40
  Speaker 6: On the street sometimes.
• 37:43
  Speaker 4: If you see a boy that you like, would you
• 37:45
  Speaker 4: approach him? How do you get in touch?
• 37:47
  Speaker 6: No, if I like him, I will just show you
• 37:49
  Speaker 6: I liked him.
• 37:51
  Speaker 4: How do you show him that you like him? How?
• 37:53
  Speaker 6: Can we do it?
• 37:54
  Speaker 4: Me and you? Okay, yeah, sure. Okay. You walk. You walk. Yeah,
• 37:59
  Speaker 4: like this. I'm walking. He will show like this.
• 38:04
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 38:05
  Speaker 8: Right.
• 38:06
  Speaker 4: And after that, he will.
• 38:07
  Speaker 6: Calling my friend and he will giving you my number
• 38:10
  Speaker 6: like this.
• 38:13
  Speaker 4: Take this paper....
• 38:16
  Speaker 2: Hey, come on, bro.
• 38:19
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 38:20
  Speaker 6: OK.
• 38:21
  Speaker 4: Go and give that to her.
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: Over there.
• 38:36
  Speaker 4: Nice.
• 38:37
  Speaker 1: OK.
• 38:37
  Speaker 6: I have to go because I have a course.
• 38:39
  Speaker 4: Thank you. I'll see you soon.
• 38:41
  Speaker 3: Thank you.
• 38:41
  Speaker 4: Nice to meet you, Fatima.
• 38:42
  Speaker 6: Nice to meet you too.
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: At times in this camp you can find yourself so
• 38:46
  Speaker 1: overwhelmed by the horror of what these people have been
• 38:48
  Speaker 1: through that thinking about anything else almost seems disrespectful. But Fatima,
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: and I guess a lot of other people like her,
• 38:57
  Speaker 1: seem to be just living in the moment, studying and
• 39:00
  Speaker 1: planning for their future. At some point, I guess you
• 39:04
  Speaker 1: just have to start moving forward. It's the day of
• 39:19
  Speaker 1: Vandal's wedding, and I'm heading over to the barber's to
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: check in on the groom.
• 39:27
  Speaker 4: Where is the groom? Where's the guy?
• 39:28
  Speaker 3: Hello?
• 39:28
  Speaker 4: I barely recognize him. you. Look at him, there he is.
• 39:31
  Speaker 4: Big day. How you doing?
• 39:33
  Speaker 8: You all right?
• 39:37
  Speaker 4: Feeling nervous? I guess the next time I see you,
• 39:41
  Speaker 4: you'll be at the wedding. All right, good luck.
• 39:44
  Speaker 1: I've managed to wangle myself an invite, but with the
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: preparations in full flow, I don't want to overstep my welcome.
• 39:52
  Speaker 5: Looking good, guys.
• 40:13
  Speaker 1: I'm leaving the camp tomorrow. Earlier in the week, I
• 40:16
  Speaker 1: felt that most people here had accepted their fate. that
• 40:19
  Speaker 1: staying here and building houses meant they'd somehow given up.
• 40:25
  Speaker 1: But people here aren't really giving up. They're just making
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: the most of a terrible situation. When you really start
• 40:33
  Speaker 1: to think about the idea of, in a heartbeat, having
• 40:36
  Speaker 1: to leave everything that you call home and starting again
• 40:39
  Speaker 1: somewhere else, it's really easy to understand if someone said,
• 40:42
  Speaker 1: you know.
• 40:42
  Speaker 4: What, I can't do this, and just gave up.
• 40:45
  Speaker 1: But what I've... I've experienced and what I've seen consistently
• 40:50
  Speaker 1: is people who have done the complete opposite of that.
• 40:54
  Speaker 1: Being raised in a working class environment, in a council
• 40:59
  Speaker 1: estate to be exact, I know what it means to
• 41:01
  Speaker 1: be in an environment that doesn't have very much and
• 41:03
  Speaker 1: be surrounded by people who are making the best of
• 41:05
  Speaker 1: what they've got. Regardless of the fact that there might
• 41:09
  Speaker 1: be dust outside their front door, there is a pride
• 41:13
  Speaker 1: and that pride is amazing to see. I've seen homes
• 41:19
  Speaker 1: that have been set up by families. I've seen businesses
• 41:22
  Speaker 1: that have been set up. And there is life here.
• 41:24
  Speaker 1: There are children here who are five and six years
• 41:27
  Speaker 1: old who know nothing else.
• 41:28
  Speaker 4: This, to them, is home.
• 41:33
  Speaker 1: No-one here, to me, feels as if they've given up.
• 41:45
  Speaker 1: It's my final evening in the cabin.
• 41:48
  Speaker 4: Fatima, you look amazing.
• 41:52
  Speaker 1: And I've managed to get my hands on a suit
• 41:54
  Speaker 1: for Vandal's bigger cave.
• 41:58
  Speaker 4: I'll miss you too.
• 42:02
  Speaker 1: Back home, you can live next door to someone for
• 42:04
  Speaker 1: years and never really bother to get to know them.
• 42:10
  Speaker 1: Half the people on my street I've never even spoken to.
• 42:13
  Speaker 4: Why are we holding arms?
• 42:15
  Speaker 1: Whereas here, people help each other. Look after each other.
• 42:20
  Speaker 1: Offer you tea after they've just met you. Make you
• 42:23
  Speaker 1: feel welcome at their wedding.
• 42:24
  Speaker 4: What an amazing wedding, man. That was incredible.
• 42:35
  Speaker 1: I guess it's a real first-hand experience of what it
• 42:37
  Speaker 1: means to be a part of a community. I just
• 42:40
  Speaker 1: keep seeing faces that I've seen all week. There's people
• 42:44
  Speaker 1: in there that I've passed in the street, that have
• 42:46
  Speaker 1: served me food in the shops, that I've hung out
• 42:48
  Speaker 1: with and met. It really feels like the entire community
• 42:51
  Speaker 1: has come out to celebrate Vandal and his new wife.
• 42:53
  Speaker 4: It's just wicked.
• 42:56
  Speaker 1: Here, everyone is connected because they have a shared history.
• 43:01
  Speaker 1: They know what it feels like to be desperate and
• 43:02
  Speaker 1: in need of each other's help. And out of that
• 43:07
  Speaker 1: comes a sense of community that's amazing to be part of,
• 43:11
  Speaker 1: however briefly. I was doing this tonight.
• 43:22
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 43:24
  Speaker 1: I did this. Party was popping tonight. You missed one.
• 43:28
  Speaker 4: Where were you? You going to get married?
• 43:36
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 43:39
  Speaker 1: Life here isn't easy. I think life here is getting
• 43:42
  Speaker 1: easier year on year. But it's not an easy life.
• 43:47
  Speaker 4: We have heat.
• 43:51
  Speaker 1: I think it's only fair that the electric has come on.
• 43:53
  Speaker 2: On the last night. Thank you. Thank you.
• 43:59
  Speaker 3: Thank you.
• 44:01
  Speaker 1: Even though we don't speak the same language, you know,
• 44:03
  Speaker 1: we unfortunately aren't able to have a full-on conversation without
• 44:07
  Speaker 1: some sort of translation. But I do think he knows
• 44:11
  Speaker 1: that I'm thankful for his help because I felt that
• 44:14
  Speaker 1: little bit safer knowing I've got somewhere every night to
• 44:16
  Speaker 1: go to. And that's made being here that bit easier.
• 44:20
  Speaker 1: And that's something that he didn't have.
• 44:23
  Speaker 4: Good night. Thanks again, OK?
• 44:24
  Speaker 3: You're welcome.
• 44:29
  Speaker 4: I love your friend. Oh, that's very nice.
• 44:33
  Speaker 1: I love you too, friend. It's my last day in
• 44:57
  Speaker 1: the camp. I still can't say it exactly feels comfortable.
• 45:01
  Speaker 1: So it's good to know Hazwan will soon be moving
• 45:03
  Speaker 1: on to a better place.
• 45:06
  Speaker 4: Hazwan, you ready? Yes. All right, one, two, three. There
• 45:12
  Speaker 4: we go. Hazwan, this one. Do you wanna hold this?
• 45:19
  Speaker 4: You're too short. Come on, you can get it. It's
• 45:24
  Speaker 4: the beginnings, look at this.
• 45:26
  Speaker 1: I am happy.
• 45:26
  Speaker 4: Yeah?
• 45:27
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 45:29
  Speaker 4: How long do you think you'll stay.
• 45:30
  Speaker 9: In this tent for? So you've decided you're definitely going
• 45:37
  Speaker 9: to build here, yeah?
• 45:40
  Speaker 4: When did you decide that it was time to stay?
• 45:42
  Speaker 4: I don't know. Are you Fatima's father?
• 46:04
  Speaker 6: OK.
• 46:05
  Speaker 4: Is Fatima home? Fatima!
• 46:08
  Speaker 1: I'm in the eastern part of the camp to meet
• 46:11
  Speaker 1: Fatima again.
• 46:12
  Speaker 4: Fatima! Where's your make-up? You look good.
• 46:16
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I know.
• 46:17
  Speaker 1: Thank you.
• 46:17
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I know. Welcome to my world. Yeah, I know.
• 46:21
  Speaker 4: There's a lot. How many sisters do you have?
• 46:22
  Speaker 3: This is your sister.
• 46:23
  Speaker 4: Seven sisters. How many brothers?
• 46:26
  Speaker 1: Three brothers.
• 46:26
  Speaker 6: Small brother.
• 46:27
  Speaker 1: This is the baby brother.
• 46:29
  Speaker 4: Yeah. Right, wow, so does the whole family live here?
• 46:31
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 46:32
  Speaker 2: Oh, man.
• 46:34
  Speaker 1: I can't help but think that Fatima, surrounded by family,
• 46:38
  Speaker 1: is in a better place to deal with the hardships
• 46:40
  Speaker 1: of the camp than someone like Hazwan, who has nobody. Oh,
• 46:48
  Speaker 1: Jesus Christ! Even if you are living alongside your loved ones,
• 46:56
  Speaker 1: the concept of home can be a painful one.
• 47:02
  Speaker 6: My special place. I go Syria there and smell Syria.
• 47:08
  Speaker 4: You can smell Syria?
• 47:09
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 47:11
  Speaker 4: So can you see Syria from here? This is the
• 47:13
  Speaker 4: first time I see it. Syria! Do you miss it?
• 47:22
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 47:24
  Speaker 4: What was your home like in Syria? Was it a
• 47:26
  Speaker 4: big house? Yeah.
• 47:28
  Speaker 6: A big house in Damascus.
• 47:30
  Speaker 3: Right.
• 47:31
  Speaker 4: What happened to it?
• 47:33
  Speaker 7: Oh, ISS.
• 47:34
  Speaker 6: By ISS.
• 47:35
  Speaker 3: Destroyed.
• 47:36
  Speaker 6: How old were you when this happened? 14. Sorry.
• 48:12
  Speaker 4: That's OK. Check out Syria, then.
• 48:18
  Speaker 6: Oi.
• 48:25
  Speaker 4: You look like you'd rather not look.
• 48:27
  Speaker 6: I can't.
• 48:31
  Speaker 4: Why not?
• 48:32
  Speaker 2: I don't know.
• 48:35
  Speaker 6: But I can't.
• 48:40
  Speaker 4: Or look this way instead? Is that better? I like
• 48:43
  Speaker 4: this way. This way is easier, yeah?
• 48:45
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah.
• 48:46
  Speaker 3: All right.
• 48:56
  Speaker 1: The longer you stay in a camp like Dom is,
• 48:58
  Speaker 1: the more you realise it's a sort of limbo.
• 49:02
  Speaker 4: Thank you.
• 49:04
  Speaker 1: The refugees here can't go home, at least not any
• 49:07
  Speaker 1: time soon. And Europe is a dangerous pipe dream.
• 49:11
  Speaker 4: Thank you again, man. Thank you. look after yourself okay.
• 49:18
  Speaker 1: The majority of people i've met here are stuck with
• 49:21
  Speaker 1: no end in sight part of me feels angry about
• 49:27
  Speaker 1: that angry that they may not live out the dreams
• 49:30
  Speaker 1: they once had but at the same time rather than
• 49:36
  Speaker 1: just giving up The friends I've made are carrying on,
• 49:41
  Speaker 1: taking back control of their lives, and despite their circumstances,
• 49:45
  Speaker 1: making a new home.