Commissioned by More To Her Story (December 2024)
A view of Damour from the greenhouses and plantations where Syrian refugee labourers and other migrant workers live and preside over farm production. Damour is a traditionally Christian area of Lebanon located just south of Beirut.
Ward, Fatma and Munira start the day early pruning and cutting dead leaves and roots from the cucumber plants in the greenhouses. They start their work in the morning in order to avoid the hottest times of the day. Syrian refugee women have become the backbone of Lebanon’s agricultural workforce, taking on grueling tasks for low pay, often in dangerous working conditions.
Munira*, 56, climbs a ladder in the greenhouses and catches her balance while trying to cut away the dead leaves on the cucumber plants. Munira and her sisters do most of the work on their part of the landlord's near 2 square kilometer land. Munira described a time when they employed some men to help with pesticide application and heavy lifting saying, "The men we hired didn’t want to work so I ended up having to do most of it myself."
Munira*, 56, originally from Idlib, rests after a morning working in the greenhouse pruning and weeding.
Munira* stands on the top of a ladder picking away the dead leaves and roots on the top of the cucumber plants. At 56 years old she struggles to keep her balance especially in the summer when the temperature can exceed 44 degrees celsius and she starts to feel faint.
Ward cooks for her sisters and their kids with some left over zuchinnis from their previous planting season. Ward cooks everyday for her family and they usually rely on their own produce and leftovers from their children's (all of whom work) workplaces for daily meals.
Fatma looks at the news from Syria on her phone after a day of working in the greenhouses. This has become a nightly ritual since the fall of Assad. “We’ll finish this season first,” she said. “We’ll harvest this crop and get it ready for sale. Only then, if Syria is safe, we will return.”
Maryam's children's clothes hang on a makeshift clothesline beside her tented home on the land she cultivates. With no crops to harvest this winter season, she works on her neighbors' fields in the Bekaa Valley to support her family.
Nahla, 41, gently rocks her newborn son at her sister's home in the Bekaa Valley. Normally, she works on a cattle farm in the Mount Lebanon region, but she has traveled to Bekaa seeking medical assistance through UNHCR for her baby, who was born with a congenital condition affecting his urinary system.
Ghazieye's daughter pours coffee for her mother's guests who visit suddenly. She doesn't go to school and works to support her mother and the family. When she is not at work, she helps her mother with household chores. .
Dried tomato plants are gathered and stacked to protect a Syrian woman's home from the winter winds in the Beka Valley and providing firewood for warmth.
