Alessio Romenzi

Lebanon, Jbeil district: Mohammed Al Telli, 43 from a Damascus suburb, was forced to flee Syria a year and a half ago with his wife Tahani (23) and their two daughters, Huda (5) and Sham (3). He had been the owner of a factory that produced construction material. He had had land and a farm too. Mohammed had a wealthy lifestyle. He is officially registered as refugee and he is now settled in a Hotel which belongs to the Hilton company not far from Jbeil (Byblos) about 35 kilometers north of Beirut. Since the outbreak of the Syrian war and the huge influx of refugees in Lebanon, the Hotel started giving hospitality to several refugee families. Now no rooms are available for other clients. Talal, 35, from Latakia, is the Hotel manager. “Due to the humanitarian crisis the owner decided to fix a considerable price reduction to allow the families to settle here” he said. “If someone has no money to pay we provide help delaying the rent and other clients help those who are most in need. We live like a huge family here”, said Talal.
Mohammed is managing to find a stable job but still he is facing several problems in Lebanon. He manages to work an average of one/two days a week at constructions sites nearby, but he is still relying on family savings.
The most important object for Mohammed is a gold necklace that used to belong to his grand-mother who passed away in 2000. Since then, the necklace has been with him and he decided to give it to his wife Tahani as gift on the day of their marriage in 2007 in Damascus. The beautiful gold necklace reminds him the women of his family. Prior his grandmother, the necklace had belonged to his great-grandmother.
“It is an ancient object that I have always seen worn by the women who I loved the most” said Mohammed. Alessio Romenzi