Taimaa and her husband Mohannad fled Syria seeking asylum in Europe. Their baby, Heln, was born a refugee.
TIME was there for the birth and chronicled their journey.
All text messages based on texts, voice mails or in person interviews.
September 13, 2016
Have you picked a name?
We’re calling her Heln, without an e, it’s more stylish that way 😘🌹
I think we’re coming this afternoon to see the baby, is that okay?
Welcome, you can come whenever you want
A Day Later
How are you feeling?
I'm fine
My happiness is incomplete
I never thought I’d have my baby in Greece
Wow!! That's so soon
I feel suffocated here, there isn’t enough oxygen in this tent
How is a a newborn supposed to handle this?
November 2016
Hey, how are you? It's so cold in New York today
it's freezing here, too
Heln is two months and one day old
💕💕💕
December 2016
Do you have any plans today?
I dream that my daughter lives an easy and happy life
I dream a lot but i don't know if these dreams will come true
I was a music teacher in Syria, but then music was banned
January 2017
Hi Taimaa, any news on where you’ll go next?
No news
I'm so bored, all we do is wait
Can you text me photos from where you are?
I think it might snow today 🌨️
New York is beautiful!
Have you found a boyfriend yet?
😂😂😂😂
We took this photo when we got engaged
Two Weeks Later
I have been trying to reach you. Is everything okay?
When is the meeting about your asylum application?
It's tomorrow in Athens
But the doctors want Heln to stay here in the hospital for 3 days
We’ve been waiting so long for this asylum appointment, but Heln’s sickness made me forget the happiness
The following morning
Hi Taimaa, have you made a decision?
I haven’t slept in 2 nights, the bus will be a 9-hour journey, another night with no sleep
i’m nervous
This is when we find out where Heln will grow up
How did your interview go?
We got asylum in Estonia
Why am I so unlucky?
Did you celebrate Mother's Day?
I did not celebrate anything
I'm so lonely
A Month Later
We’re leaving for Estonia tomorrow
We’re only allowed 23kg per person on the plane
I hope this is the last time we have to pack
Do you want to come with us to see the Acropolis before you leave Greece?
How's your family back in Syria doing?
I miss them
My brother sent me this from our village
Some refugees say it’s better to forget Syria, but I can’t
This is what the cherry trees in my garden used to look like
I didn't know the privilege of stability until it was taken away from me
Have you learned more about life in Estonia?
I watched videos on YouTube, and I really liked it
Have you been on a plane before?!
A Month Later
How is it going?
It's really hard to live in this society, where you are an outcast
And what about you?
The way they look at me and at the hijab...
When we take the bus, I feel like someone might snatch it from my hair
September 2017
We got our travel papers
We're thinking of leaving for Germany, I don't know what do to.
What happens if you leave Estonia?
We lose our benefits, we lose our apartment, and we probably have to go back to a camp
The decision is in my husband’s hands
A week later
I want to tell you
We'll travel by bus. It'll costs 400 euros to get to Berlin
September 2017
Happy birthday Heln! I can't wait to celebrate with you! 🎂
I never thought we'd celebrate her first birthday in a camp
But I'm happier here
Taimaa and Mohannad are appealing deportation orders that would take them back to Estonia, but they have run out of money to pay legal fees.
Mohannad is working in the Kusel camp laundry. He makes 80 cents an hour.
Taimaa fears that any day now there will be a knock on her door, forcing her to leave her new friends in the camp.
Wael does not attend day care or kindergarten. Taimaa worries he might get lice.
Heln is learning to run after her brother, but her favorite game is pretending to talk on her mother’s phone.
Producer
Francesca Trianni
Reporting, Video, and Photography
Aryn BakerLynsey Addario-VerbatimFrancesca Trianni
Design & Development Lead
Tim KlimowiczDavid T. Kofahl
Development
Amelia KaufmanAnggi PriatmadiStacy Wang
Executive Producers
Kira PollackJonathan Woods
Supervising Producer
Justine Simons
Photo Editor
Alice Gabriner
Editors
Matt VellaKelly ConniffDan Stewart
Associate Photo Editor
Kara Milstein
Fixers
Irene LioumiHolger RoonemaaNatalija Miletich
Translators
Reem MakhoulLamis AljasemAbeer Albadawi
Art Direction
Joe Fuller
Software Development Engineers
Kamari AykesChris JimenezUpasana KozyachayaVictor MarquezShawn RiceSinash ShajahanAmara Thota
Sep 2016
2017
Oct 2017