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A child looks at the camera with their face painted like a cat. They wear a brown jacket with a faux-fur collar and a white beanie.

Photography: Giles Duley profiles Syrian refugees in a simple, heartbreaking way

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Date
10 March 2014

Sometimes we ease you into a Monday morning but not this week dear readers because Giles Duley’s new series is an urgent, heart-stopping reminder that struggling with the commute is pretty small fry. He went with Save The Children to visit the Syrian refugees in Zaatari, Jordan, and the resulting portraits are extraordinarily powerful.

Giles’ brilliance lies in his unerring ability to focus on the person whatever context he is working in. In that way paradoxically his work is so much more powerful; he underlines that whatever socio-political conflicts rage around them, the victims are men, women and children who wanted nothing less than to be thrusted into the maelstrom.

Two children stand against a plain white backdrop on a stony ground. Both have yellow and black face paint, and the older child wears a beanie and a plaid jacket with “Chicago” written across the chest.
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Giles Duley: Majd and Raja

Three children stand together on a rocky ground against a plain white backdrop. They wear mismatched, oversized clothing, including a zebra-print garment and a sweater with a skull motif.
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Giles Duley: Fadwa, Essam and Layali

A child looks at the camera with their face painted like a cat. They wear a brown winter jacket with a fleece collar and a white beanie.
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Giles Duley: Kamel

Two children stand side by side on a rocky ground against a plain white backdrop. They both wear plaid zip-up jackets with “Chicago” written across the chest.
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Giles Duley: Hesham and Jalal

A black and white portrait of a child grinning widely, showing their teeth. They wear a thick, striped knitted jumper with a zip neck.
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Giles Duley: Nabil

A child stands against a white backdrop in a sandy landscape. They wear a pink, black and grey striped cardigan and pink trousers, with dark markings drawn across their face.
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Giles Duley: Dunya

A person wearing a black niqab holds a small child in their arms. A second, slightly older child stands beside them on a rocky ground against a plain white backdrop.
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Giles Duley: Suha, Rami and Hadi

A smiling child looks at the camera with dark paint marks across their forehead, nose and chin. They wear a pink and black striped cardigan over a pink polka-dot hoodie.
Above

Giles Duley: Dunya

Two children stand side by side against a plain white backdrop on stony ground. One child wears a ribbed sweater and jeans, while the other wears a buttoned jacket and dark trousers.
Above

Giles Duley: Riham and Najwa

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About the Author

Rob Alderson

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Rob Alderson is a freelance writer, editor and strategist. He was previously editor-in-chief of It’s Nice That and WePresent, and editor of Design Week. He publishes the newsletter Undo, which tries to make sense of how AI is changing design work, the design process and the design industry.

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