Tsawwar… Hasan Belal

"A Syrian couple from North of Syria walks through the streets of Damascus, yellow taxis in the background, searching for the Citizen Service Center to confirm their marriage after the war destroyed government offices in their city on March 15, 2020. I arrived in Damascus in 2017, leaving behind the small coastal city of Tartous for the capital that never sleeps. As a photojournalist and documentary photographer, I began documenting daily life, observing people’s interactions, traditions, and urban spaces. Marjeh Square became my focus, a place of contrasts, where migrants from northeastern Syria arrive seeking opportunity yet face new struggles. This photo is part of ‘I Am From There,’ an ongoing anthropological documentary project that addresses the issues of rural-urban migration and social justice by shedding light on the stories of the migrant population from northeastern Syria to the city of Damascus. The project investigates the reasons for these people’s arrival to the city and focuses on a triangular connection between me, them, and Marjeh Square – the square that was and still is our first destination since we arrived in Damascus.""

Tsawwar is an ongoing visual series in Daftar that explores the stories behind a photograph, taken in the region or by an Arab photographer, written in their own words. Hasan Belal is a Syrian photojournalist who contributes to platforms like the Middle East Archive and Everyday Middle East. Explore his work on @hasan.belal.001