Welcome To Lebanon

“Welcome, welcome to Lebanon.

“Welcome, welcome to Lebanon......." was a phrase we encountered regularly from soldiers at Lebanese Army checkpoints. It was meant as a friendly gesture, but some soldiers seemed to say the words sardonically, revealing the weariness they feel about the fragility of Lebanon today.

For 10 days in February 2014 I undertook my first trip to Lebanon to look in depth at the refugee crisis in that country. Since my concern photographically in my personal work is largely the issue of migrations and the myriad of consequences thereof, it seemed to me the most natural thing to do. Currently, there are almost 1.5 million Syrian refugees. The country is roughly the same size of Ireland, with a population of 4 million - also like Ireland.