The Syrian revolution has displaced its elite. While some have fled the country or died, others have been arrested or kidnapped. As many Syrian professionals fled their homes to escape imminent death or the unknown, amateur photographers and journalists emerged in their place to document the war, publishing their images and stories on social media. They became citizen journalists because professional journalists were no longer able to work in the face of constant threats to their lives.
In the Syrian Kurdish city of Kobani, violent battles raged for months between the Islamic State (IS) and Kurdish forces, as the anti-terror alliance shelled IS sites. The city was a wreck. Yet life went on in Kobani.