Syrian couple shows the world love can win everything
Despite the serial bombardment of their hometown, one couple from Homs has refused to give up hope. A photographer from the AFP news agency followed them and their wedding photographer to give the images wider exposure.
'Love Reconstructs Syria'
A month after Jafar Meray decided to use the war-stricken scenery for the couple's wedding photo shoot, the AFP also released a series of pictures taken by one of the agency's photographers who accompanied Meray and the couple. Meray called his series "Love Reconstructs Syria" and posted several pictures on his Facebook account, gaining hundreds of likes and shares.
Life and love among the ruins
The couple, 18-year-old Nada Merhi and 27-year-old soldier Hassan Youssef, chose a rather unusual background for their wedding pictures: their destroyed hometown of Homs. Meray used the ruins to show that "life is stronger than death."
A city torn apart
Syria's civil war has left more than 250,000 people dead, the majority of them civilians. Homs, which is Syria's third largest city, has suffered tremendously from attacks by forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad. It was also one of the first cities to oppose the government in 2012, albeit in vain. The government has since managed to expel most opposition fighters from the city.
White dress, gray rubble
In the middle of the once-thriving city, Nada's dress highlights the destruction that surrounds the young couple. Bullet holes, abandoned buildings, burned ruins and deserted roads are a constant reminder of the lives the people of Homs used to have.
Unceasing attacks
Homs still regularly experiences attacks. On January 26 at least 22 people were killed and more than 100 were injured in a suicide bombing in the neighborhood of al-Zahra. The neighborhood is mostly populated by Alawites, a minority sect of Islam that includes Syrian President Assad and his family. The "Islamic State" claimed responsibility for the attack.
Homs is not alone
Since September 30, Russian warplanes have conducted air strikes in support of Assad's forces. Homs is not the only Syrian city to suffer: On February 15, airstrikes hit a hospital near Murat al-Numan, about 280 kilometers (170 miles) north of the capital, Damascus, killing at least nine people.
International criticism
In an interview with the French news agency AFP, Assad said he would continue fighting despite mounting international pressure for a ceasefire. However, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir told the German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung that "there will be no Bashar al-Assad in the future. ... He will no longer carry responsibility for Syria."
The main theme of MSC
The ongoing suffering experienced by people in besieged areas of Syria was one of the main points of the debate about human security at the February 12-14 Munich Security Conference. US Secretary of State John Kerry said, "The vast majority, in our opinion, of Russia's attacks have been against legitimate opposition groups."
'Love in the Times of War'
Some Facebook users have commented on Meray's photos with emotional statements. "I feel like the groom in the picture," one wrote. Another commented: "May God be with you and with all Syrians. Thanks for all these pictures and for sharing them with the world." A third offered the alternative title "Love in the Times of War."
'Proof that life goes on'
Meray's photographs have become so successful that people are still commenting on the series on his Facebook page, creating slideshows from it or turning it into YouTube videos. One user has even called Meray's series "proof that life goes on even in Syria's most devastated city of Homs."