10 years ago, Witness Change began with a small team and a bold vision: to use visual storytelling to amplify marginalized voices. Since then, we’ve built a decade of impact, resilience, and community. https://t.co/lRcScprihC (tw)

“There was bombing in my city, it was totally destroyed.” says 14 year old Syrian Hamza Mashor about leaving home to come to Europe. This #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek, we’re sharing Hamza’s story to shed light on the unseen trauma faced by refugees across the world. This story comes from the #onedayinmyworld project. Hamza discusses the journey from Syria: “The most difficult part was walking from Aleppo to Turkey.” Speaking of the camp, he shares: “Life in the camp is no good. It’s very dirty, all the garbage is in the street, there are many families in the street. And there are many insects there… the place is very closed, crowded, it feels like you can’t breathe there" He explains his own mental health situation: “Sometimes I have nightmares about fighting in the camp, that the people in the camp are fighting me, killing me… I feel frustrated the whole day, and sometimes I fight with some people to release the frustration I have” Speaking of the future he says: “I hope that one day I will go to Germany and settle there to be around my uncles and cousins and forget all these people and these memories that I am facing here… I hope and wish to go out from here as soon as possible and find myself on the list to move to a caravan or house and move from Moria camp.” Photo by Robin Hammond Thousands of people looking for safety from countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, Congo continue to risk their lives to reach Europe. In Lesvos (Lesbos), there are currently more than 1,700 people in the Mavrovouni camp also referred to as Moria 2.0 after the Moria camp burnt down in 2020. About 15,200 people are living in 24 camps on the Greek mainland. The awful conditions at the camps and arbitrary administrative situations have had a dramatic impact on their health and in particular their mental health. (fb)