Photographer captures Syrian family's new found joy in St. John's
Elbonita Kozhani photographed the Khalif family as it settles into Newfoundland
As images of the horrors Syrians are facing continue to pour in, a St. John's-based photographer is telling a different story.
Photographer Elbonita Kozhani has documented the playfulness and challenges of the Khalif family – a Syrian couple and their eight children – as they adjust to a new home in Canada's eastern-most province. The children range in age from one, to 14.
Joy, sadness, and struggle
"You typically see what is going on in Syria but one thing we don't see is the aftermath, after they have arrived. What life is like, their joys, their sadness, their struggles," said Kozhani.
"So I spent a lot of time with this family. I was probably with them three or four days a week."
Kozhani herself is a former refugee, who moved to St. John's from Kosovo with her family in 1999.
The Khalifs survived a difficult time in Syria but there are a lot of smiles in Kozhani's photos.
"That's actually what I want people to get out of this: how happy they are and how much fun they have," said Kozhani.
'There is so much hope'
They've witnessed a brutal war in Syria but Kozhani says that's not the Khalif family's whole story.
"I do believe there is a negative thing where we do believe that all the children have post-traumatic stress disorder but it's not true... there is so much hope in these children," she said.
Kozhani is leaving Newfoundland in January, headed for Asia. She's planning to travel the world for a couple of years, photographing what she sees along the way.
