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In pictures: Refugees face Ramadan hardships

Fasting Syrian and Afghan refugees prepare their evening meal with the few ingredients and resources they have.

The owner of a bakery in Islamabad, Pakistan hands out bread to Pashtun Afghan refugee families before iftar.
By Max Becherer and Alice Martins
Published On 7 Aug 2013

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Throughout the holy month of Ramadan, millions of fasting Muslims across the world refrain from consuming liquids and food, and from engaging in sexual activity from sunrise to sunset. At sunset, family members gather to break their daily fast during an evening meal, iftar.

For refugees living in camps – or makeshift homes when camps have reached full capacity – preparing for iftar can be a challenge due to a lack of money and the limited availability of supplies and ingredients.

Since violence erupted in Syria more than two years ago, around 410,000 Syrians have received refugee status in Turkey. During the month of Ramadan, many Syrian refugees try to work around the obstacles they face and continue to fast and prepare for iftar despite their harsh living conditions.

Some refugees living in makeshift homes in Turkey use cardboard boxes and tree branches to light fires in order to prepare iftar. Other families are less fortunate, with vegetables substituting for a hot meal for their iftar dinner.

In Pakistan, there are currently nearly 1.6 million registered Afghan refugees. In several refugee communities on the outskirts of Islamabad, the capital, many humble families, with little money, fast and prepare iftar meals together.


Shazia, age 10, opens her bag in preparation to hide away bread being given out to Pashtun Afghan refugee families. She arrived with neighbours to collect bread that her family will eat before the morning prayer.
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Shazia pours chana into a bowl in preparation for the breaking of the fast.
Nearly 1.6 million registered Afghan refugees live in Pakistan, one of the largest refugee populations in the world.
Shazia said her family has enough food to eat, and that they have meat nearly every Friday.
A Syrian girl living in a makeshift refugee camp in Kilis, Turkey, brings an empty dish she will be using to prepare iftar. The camp was set up at a public park to accommodate newcomers while the official camp is at full capacity. Some families have been living here for more than three months in precarious conditions.
A Syrian woman prepares iftar with few ingredients available.
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A Syrian girl and her mother living in a makeshift refugee camp prepare for iftar.
Syrian children use cardboard boxes to light a fire to cook their iftar dinner.
With few ingredients and utensils available, Syrian women in this makeshift refugee camp have a limited number of options to prepare iftar.
A Syrian woman living in this makeshift refugee camp prepares tea using cardboard boxes to light a fire.
A Syrian girl lights a fire using tree branches and cardboard to boil potatoes for iftar.
A Syrian family shares tomatoes and cucumbers for iftar. Their home in Syria was destroyed by an airstrike.