Mark Voss

ISOLATED IN ISTANBUL

Fahad is an Iraqi refugee living in Istanbul waiting to be reunited with his finacee in Norway via a marriage visa. A former policeman in Mosul, he was forced to flee Iraq after insurgents took him prisoner and then tortured and beat him until they left him for dead. Fahad does not speak Turkish and has a very difficult time finding work. He lives an isolated existence in an impoverished neighborhood connected only to a handful of fellow Iraqis. Strong feelings of longing and detachment are common among many of the 4.7 million Iraqis who have become refugees since 2003.

   
When not looking for work, Fahad wanders the streets and waterfronts of Istanbul in order to kill time. His fiancee is often his only source of financial support.
   
     
  
   
  
Fahad speaks numerous times a day to his fiancee, a nurse and Norwegian citizen. The UN originally settled him in Norway, but he has since had to leave in order to fulfill the country's immigration requirements. Soon after he left his fiancee gave birth to their first child, a son.