While Iraqis who fled the war in their country are waiting in Douma center outside Damascus for the UNHCR to register them as refugees, Iraqi clowns are part of a troupe called – nomen omen “Happy Family” (refugees themselves after two of the group were killed in Baghdad) stage a performance about the need for the children to go to school. UNHCR’s research showed that 76% of Iraqi children are not enrolled in Syrian schools although it is possible and free. Photo: Anna Husarska/The IRC

An Iraqi woman inspects the dolls in a street stall in Sayyida Zaynab, outside Damascus.
Photo: Anna Husarska/The IRC

A notice in an Iraqi barber shop advertises free trips for returnees offered by the Iraqi authorities. The customer being shaved has no intention to return: his name is “Saddam” so he may be right to stay away. The barber and his friend say “perhaps, but not yet.” Photo: Anna Husarska/The IRC

A UNHCR employee registers a family of Iraqi refugees in Douma outside Damascus.
Photo: Anna Husarska/The IRC