The Syrian Rose

If you had only a small bag in which to pack your most valued and needed possessions, what would you fill it with?

For six-year-old Omran, part of that precious space is occupied by a zip-lock bag of marshmallows, the young boy's favourite snack, alongside a toothbrush, toothpaste and a pair of trousers and a shirt.

Omran, from Syria, is too young to comprehend fully the upheaval that is occurring around him.

He is among the thousands of refugees fleeing unrest in Syria and other parts of the Middle East and Afghanistan, and risking their lives in a desperate dash for Europe and the hope of a new, safer life.

The International Rescue Committee, a global humanitarian aid organisation, spoke to a handful of those displaced people and photographed the meagre possessions they had managed to carry with them across the Aegean Sea to Lesbos, in Greece.

"Smugglers routinely exploit them, promising safety for a price, only to squeeze them like sardines into tiny boats," the committee said in a statement.

"Most have no option but to shed whatever meagre belongings they may have salvaged from their journeys. Those allowed to bring extra baggage aboard often toss it overboard, frantically dumping extra weight as the leaky boats take on water."

Entitled What's in my bag?: What refugees bring when they run for their lives, the photo essay paints a bleak picture of life on the move.

Omran, 6, from Damascus, Syria

Photo: International Rescue Committee

Contents of the bag:

Aboessa, 20, from Damascus, Syria

What's in my bag? These are the only possessions Aboessa, from Syria, could carry with her when fleeing. Photo: International Rescue Committee

Aboessa left Syria with her husband and their 10-month-old daughter, Doua.

"Everything is for my daughter to protect her against sickness. When we arrived in Greece, a kind man gave me two jars of food. Another man gave us biscuits and water when he saw my baby," she said.

Contents of Aboessa's bag:

A pharmacist from Syria, who wished to remain anonymous

Photo: International Rescue Committee

A 34-year-old pharmacist from Syria carried these items with him in a small bag. His boat began leaking, and he ended up treading water for 45 minutes before he was rescued.

Contents of his bag:

A family from Aleppo, Syria

Photo: International Rescue Committee

An extended family, from Aleppo in Syria, lost most of their possessions along the way and arrived with just one bag. There were seven women, four men and 20 children.

Contents of their bag: