The number of homophobic murders in Iraq is reported to be "in the hundreds" according to an official at the UNAMI (United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq), and Ali Hili of London based gay rights group Iraqi LGBT, has recorded more than 700 individuals killed in gay motivated murders. Figures like these are a great cause for concern, raising questions such as how acts of brutality and torture are continuing in a new 'liberated', 'free', and 'democratic' Iraq. Gay men in Iraq have remained a target of the country's far-right religious militia groups, who are specifically targeting men believed to be homosexual whether it be based on fact or suspicion. Groups such as Ahl al-Haq (People of Truth) amongst others have publicly claimed responsibility for murders fuelled by homophobia across the country. As a ramification of ongoing attacks, many gay Iraqis have left their homes and their country, with the most favoured common destination being Syria. Despite homosexuality remaining illegal under Syrian law and conviction resulting in a three year prison sentence, gay lives are of course still lived out on the streets of Syria's cities. For gay Iraqi men fortunate enough to have found temporary refuge in Syria the situation is anything but safe, and their guard can never be fully dropped. With a steady flow of Iraqis heading for Syria since the outbreak of war in 2003, certain areas of Syria are becoming a microcosm of Iraq. The suburb of Saida Zainab outside Damascus is home to a large number of Iraqi refugees as well as a large Shia shrine, which many Iraqis visit including members of the Mahdi army. Recent political uprising in Syria has made the situation for these Iraqi men increasingly difficult. Some have again uprooted themselves and are in Syria's neighbouring countries. Identities have been hidden and names changed for the protection of the individuals. *There have been some problems uploading individual's stories, but this should be resolved shortly.

Quneitra, a destroyed town in the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force Zone, very close to the de facto border between Syria and Israel, was once the capital of the Golan Heights and a busy market town. Currently under Syrian control, the town was occupied by Israel for six years, from 1967 until 1974. The town remains in ruins since it's recapture by Syria, with only a handful of inhabitants who mostly work for the UN currently residing in and around the deserted streets. There are a small number of school children that live in the demilitarised zone that study in Israeli controlled Golan. The children are provided special permission to cross the zone and into Israel every week, escorted by the UN. Syria uses the town as an anti-Israeli propaganda tool, allowing local and foreign visitors to drive around and examine the damage done by six years of Israeli occupation. Buildings have signs describing what they once were, and what they were used for by the Israelis. In 2001 Pope John Paul II paid a visit, and there have been other high profile visitors since. Mosques, a Greek orthodox Church and the majority of the town's other buildings have been completely destroyed. Graffiti covers the walls in both Hebrew and Arabic. Syria does not plan to rebuild the town, for which it has been criticised for by Israel.

Every day hundreds of people attempt to enter the European Union illegally, around 80% of whom choose to cross in the Evros region of Greece in the first six months of 2011. Dehydration, exhaustion, freezing temperatures and drowning claim the lives of many trying to enter Greece, and Europe illegally. Individuals come from Africa, Asia, and even South America in an attempt to try and enter what is seen as Europe's weak spot in border control. Hundreds that attempt this journey don't make it alive, and die trying to make a better life for themselves in the EU. Bodies are often found by farmers and fishermen months after death and in an advanced state of decomposition, or partially eaten by animals. Bone and muscle samples are taken for DNA records, which are held on a central database in Athens. After DNA tests samples have been completed, unidentified bodies are buried in a mass grave near the village of Sidiro, 25km from the border with Turkey. The graves are unmarked, unnumbered, and in a remote hillside location not sign posted from the main road. A Muslim cleric, Mufti Sherife Damadoglou from the Turkish minority in Greece has taken responsibility for the burial of the bodies in a traditional Islamic manner. Frontex, the European Union's border agency has been assisting the Greek border police in the Evros region since October 2010. Current figures for the first six months of the year show a 247% increase in the number of arrests of illegal migrants (source - Alexandroupoli police) in the southern part of the border alone. A Europe-wide reform in the migration system, and the act of forced deportations is needed in order to assist Greece with the current situation. The Greek government also needs much more help in bolstering it's border in the Evros region.

On most Syrian maps the Turkish province of Hatay is included within Syrias' borders, and now the area is home to an estimated 100,000 Syrian refugees fleeing the violence in the north west of the country. Syrians are classed as 'guests' by the Turkish government, and are therefore not legally refugees, which makes them unable to claim asylum in Turkey and gain access to many vital services, or have any legal platform on which to fight for their rights. There are six official refugee camps established for Syrian refugees in Turkey, and plans to relocate the inhabitants of the camps into two larger, semi permanent city-like camps near Kilis and Urfa has already begun. The larger Kilis and Urfa camps consist of pre-fabricated housing structures, in an area which can be expanded for thousands more refugees at a later date. For now though, Turkey has stopped receiving Syrians fleeing the violence. Camps on the Syrian side of the border fence have begun to grow, including around 12,000 people currently in Atmeh, Idlib province. ...

Cheap, readily available opium, heroin and hashish have a profound effect on a population. Peshawar is on the northern Pakistani border with Afghanistan, and thus receives a large drug smuggling community, which addicts and gun wielding drug-lords inevitably follow. UNODC data shows that more land is used to grow opium in Afghanistan, than for coca in Latin America. Once such a business has been established, it of course sticks around for a long time. Generations of local men and women get drawn into the trade, and end up ruining their lives, prematurely ending from either drugs, guns or both. It is currently estimated that in 2007 90% of the heroin traded on the streets of Britain, was grown in the fields of Afghanistan. Since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, the level of opium poppy production has increased year on year. 2007 was the largest crop on record for Afghanistan. From talking to aid workers in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, I learned that opium is used by local people as a 'one-for-all' remedy. If a newborn baby cries, they are given a small amount of opium to 'calm' them. Thus many babies are addicted to opium before the age of four months old. Cold, headache and tiredness are also treated by opium in poorer rural areas where doctors are not often present. During my time in the area I visited a rehabilitation centre. There are only a hand-full of such places, and they are funded entirely from private donors. Neither the Pakistani or Afghan governments provide any type of help or assistance to those who fall victim to these horrible drugs. Many of the doctors working there are paid a minimum, and often volunteer their time. Patients must admit themselves, and due to a crumbling economy many just do not have time, or have to travel such large distances to reach one of the rehabilitation centres.

A selection of images taken from July 1st to July 10th 2013, during the period when Egypt's first democratically elected president, Mohammed Morsi and his party, the Muslim Brotherhood were ousted from power by the country's military.

The most densely populated country on our planet. People, noise, movement, waterways, green paddy fields, and big smiles. Bangladesh is under great threat from sea level rise, as the majority of it's land is less than 2 meters above sea level. The annual monsoon rains engulf huge chunks of land, turning fields into rivers. As this happens, the salinity of fresh water increases and communities become displaced, joining the thousands of other climate refugees in the ever growing cities. Due to widespread corruption in national politics, the country's economy is in bad shape and child labour is often used. Some international clothing companies have factories in and around the capital Dhaka.

Syria's north western Idlib province is a vital gateway for the ongoing struggle against Bashar al-Assad, and a regime which is yet to loose much high-ranking support from within. The area comprises of predominantly anti-regime towns and villages, and is an invaluable geographic location exploited by the Free Syrian Army (FSA), to move fighters, weapons, aid, the injured, and refugees across the hills and olive groves that mark the official border. Idlib province neighbours Turkey's Hatay; currently home to tens of thousands of refugees, humanitarian supplies, the Syrian Free Army leadership, and vital communication links with the outside world. The Free Syrian Army (FSA) are fighting to remain in control of the olive-groves that line the province, in the hope of maintaining some breathing space and safety for the local population. The lightly armed FSA and fighting against an army increasingly fond of aerial attacks, to avoid defections by sending in ground troops, something which the armed opposition have little to prevent and protect against. A recently defected soldier, now loyal to the FSA told me that, “When the U.N (U.N Supervision Mission in Syria) came to our area, we were all given police ID cards and a sheet of paper with answers to the questions the U.N would ask. My entire military battalion was turned into a police force - on paper” Along with helicopter strikes, feared Shabiha militia are raiding villages, burning homes, shooting indiscriminately and spreading fear and terror. Osama, a major general in the FSA from Idlib expressed his dislike of the current situation, "We're not happy to defect and kill other Syrians, we're not happy to do this, but the regime forced us to do this because they are bombing and shelling us. We don't want an armed revolution but we don't have any choice". Despite the conflict showing no signs of abating soon, the FSA are already considering the effect that so many weapons in the hands of the population will mean in post-revolution Syria. Commanders are now recording and tracking who owns which weapon, quantities of ammunition, addresses, etc., in an attempt to successfully unarm the country post-conflict, avoiding a fate similar to that of Libya, where militias are still running areas of the country. Lives of course continue within such surroundings, and urban areas made up of mostly women, children and older people, are the epicenter of the hope from which the sons and fathers fighting in the FSA are drawing their energy. Cooking, cleaning, mourning their losses, and keeping watch, the villagers of Idlib are the backbone of the opposition movement.

'Hidden lives' is very much a work in progress, documenting the lives of individuals claiming asylum based on their sexuality or gender identity in Turkey, and exploring LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) Kurdish identity in south eastern Turkey. Once complete, the work will be three stories, a continuation from 'Iraq's unwanted people', about gay Iraqi men claiming asylum and resettlement from Damascus, Syria in late 2010, as part of a long-term documentary on LGBT identity in the Middle East and Northern Africa. Originating from Iraq and Iran, hundreds of individuals claiming asylum based on sexuality or gender identity grounds, are currently in Turkey waiting for resettlement to a third country. This ongoing series of images attempts to portray the waiting, the unknown future, and the highs and lows of the resettlement experience in Turkey. In Turkey's south-east, Kurdish LGBT people are struggling and fighting for legal equality, acceptance, and to live their lives without discrimination and fear. Caught between both the LGBT and Kurdish political movements individuals are looking for freedom in a notoriously conservative area of the country, and one which is struggling with its own economical and identity complications. This gallery is constantly changing, so please re-visit soon.

Can't stay, can't go. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has described the situation for migrants and refugees in Greece as "a humanitarian crisis", and according to Human Rights Watch (HRW) the country is said to process and recognise less than one percent of asylum cases claimed. Since claiming asylum is near impossible migrants use Greece as a transit country onto north western Europe. Every day upto two-hundred people attempt to enter the European Union illegally, 80% of whom choose to cross in the Evros region of eastern Greece in recent years. Dehydration, exhaustion, freezing temperatures and drowning claim the lives of many trying to enter Greece, and Europe illegally. Individuals come from Africa, Asia, and even South America in an attempt to try to enter what is seen as Europe's weak spot in border control. Whilst it's still relatively easy to enter Greece from Turkey illegally, it's getting ever tougher for migrants to leave the country. This series of images was taken in and around Evros, the point of entry for many, and Patras, the port serving Italy where most migrants attempt to escape Greece. Trapped without aid or medical assistance, migrants and refugees attempt to smuggle themselves out of the country on lorries and ferries. Hundreds that attempt this journey don't make it alive, and die trying to make a better life for themselves in the EU. Bodies are often found by farmers and fishermen months after death and in an advanced state of decomposition, or partially eaten by animals. Salvageable bone and muscle samples are taken for DNA records, which are held on a central database in Athens. Greece won't recognise asylum claims and let migrants stay, but it also won't let them go onto somewhere that will.

Ramadan in Damascus, the so called cradle of civilisation. Syria. August and September 2010

The portraits in this series show a cross-section of the Kurdish population living in Qamishli in September 2010. According to the Kurdistan National Assembly of Syria, Kurds make up between 15-20% of the 20 million Syrian population, making them the largest ethnic minority group in the country. The majority of Kurdish Syrians live in the North east of the country around the towns of Hasakey and Qamishli, in what would be regarded as the western part of Kurdistan, were the nation to exist. Despite totalling such a high percentage of the population, an estimated 300,000 Syrian Kurds are stateless according to Refugees International, with Kurdish groups insisting that the true number of stateless persons is almost double this figure. As in Kurdish Iraq under the rule of Saddam Hussein, the Kurdish areas of Syria were subject to 'Arabization' from 1965, during which towns and cities were given Arabic names replacing their Kurdish originals. From 1965 the Syrian government started to provide financial and housing incentives to Arab farmers who moved to the North east of the country. In 1961 Syria declared itself an Arab Republic. In 1962, a year after the nation's change of name, there was a census ordered for only the North eastern province of Jazira, an area that was predominantly Kurdish. Residents in possession of national ID cards were requested to hand them in for renewal; in return they got nothing. The government managed to con almost all Kurds in the region out of their nationality and into statelessness. Syria's present standpoint on Kurds in the country remains the same as it always has; that Kurds are not Syrian, and that they started illegally entering the country in the mid twentieth century from Turkey and Iraq, therefore not having any right to citizenship. Unless the Syrian government decides to change it's policies on Kurdish rights, the present situation for Kurdish men, women and children in the country will continue.

The very name stirs the nerves and senses into action. Cast away modern day social stigma, look past the newspaper headlines, time your visit well, and it is a fantastically rewarding country to spend time in.?Hospitality is a serious matter, and guests are always treated with due respect. Despite such a long slog of disastrous war conditions, the spirit of the people on the street is jolly.?It definitely has the frontier atmosphere, with the deserted landscape, big turbans, dust, and awe-inspiring mountain ranges. During the 'hippy trail' days, Afghanistan was THE place to stop overland, en route to India. For obvious reasons, today it is a place people avoid.

Turkey's biggest mining disaster to date in Soma, Western Turkey 2014

2nd Friends of Syria conference held in Istanbul, Turkey including pro Assad demonstrations held outside the conference hall.

It can be seen as a form of modern day slavery. The Indian subcontinent is filled with such places as this brick factory. Workers are from poorer sections of the community, and are often displaced from their village or homeland for economic or social reasons, or even due to a natural disaster.?The work is hard and the days a very long. Safety is non existent, and the health of the workers is damaged by the thick black smoke given off from burning old tyres to heat the kilns.?Landlords provide housing, but demand repayments through work.?In reality, the debt that the parents owe will never be repaid, and will continue onto the children for generations. The workers are inevitably slaves through debt.

Early in the morning the mosque calls for Muslims to pray. The song flows through the morning air; whilst shepherds, butchers and farmers all start to congregate in the centre of the old city of Damascus.?Flocks of sheep are gathered, ready to be weighed and sold. Others can be bought and delivered to a home, where the sacrifice then takes place.?The majority of people sacrifice the animal on the street, and distribute much of the meat to poorer families.?It's positive to see that such an ancient ritual can still be performed today.

An increasing number of young Palestinians born in the refugee camps of Lebanon are turning to hip hop and rap, in order to voice their feelings and frustrations to the wider world. The refugee camp of Burj el-Barajneh, affectionately called "the BBC" by it's residents are among the most musically active community within the twelve official Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. Palestinians make up roughly 10% of Lebanon's 4 million population, and their voice is becoming increasingly louder through their music. At a time where extremism is becoming a growing problem around the world, many young Palestinian men are instead turning their backs on violence and using music as a form of resistance and expression. The music being made takes it's inspiration from the New York roots of the hip hop genre, along with the modern British, French and European styles, although has a distinct Middle Eastern feel. Lyrics are mostly in Arabic, traditional instruments of the region often included in the tracks, and references to significant Palestinian poets, artists and leaders are often made throughout. In the opinion of many Palestinian and Lebanese artists, the hip hop scene in Lebanon is growing week by week; with more young performers starting out, break-dancing happening on the streets of central Beirut, and increasingly larger crowds attending gigs. Several Hip-hop artists, both Palestinian and Lebanese believe that the rap scene will be as big as that in New York in the 1980's and 90's in a couple of years in Lebanon and the Middle East. For now the hip hop scene in Lebanon, especially that of Palestinians, remains relatively underground and unknown to wider Lebanese society, but it is hoped and believed by the artists and performers that this genre of home-grown music will soon break out of it's shell and be heard by all.