Syrian couple take their wedding photos in Homs, the country's most devastated city
The photographer insisted his photographs were proof 'life goes on silently' in Syria
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Homs may be the clearest evidence of the destruction that the Syrian civil war has wrought upon the country. The city, which is about 100 miles north of the capital, Damascus, was once the country's third-largest, with a population of more than 600,000. However, after Homs became a rebel stronghold in 2011, it was hit by a military assault by government forces. The ensuing battle nearly destroyed Homs and left it a husk of a city.
Despite the destruction, ordinary life goes on — to an extent, at least.
On 5 February, newlyweds Nada Merhi, 18, and Hassan Youssef, 27, took their wedding photos amid the ruins of the city. Joseph Eid, a photographer with Agence France-Presse, accompanied the couple and their wedding photographer, Jafar Meray, on the shoot — Eid said Meray told him he wanted “to show that life is stronger than death.”
This isn't the first wedding that has been photographed among Homs's ruins. Meray photographed another married couple late last year. On his Facebook page, he explained that the photographs were proof that "life goes on, silently."
In the summer, other photographs showed a wedding in Homs's semi-destroyed St. George's Church, a Greek Orthodox place of worship that had lost its roof in the fighting.
Although Merhi and Youssef's wedding photos may suggest that life in Syria can come close to normality, they are far from free of the complexity and divisiveness of the war. Youssef wears a military uniform in the photographs. He is a soldier in the Syrian army — the same force that helped destroy Homs with years of airstrikes, artillery attacks, and mortar and rocket fire aimed at the occupying rebel groups.
Source: Washington Post
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments