In September 2014, as ISIS advanced toward the northern region of Iraq, over 150,000 people fled from Mosul to Zakho in just two weeks — nearly half the town’s own population.

Parks and schools became refugee camps overnight. Families arrived with nothing more than a few clothes and scraps of food, forced to begin a new life in makeshift tents.

When I visited the camps, children quickly ran toward my camera.
Perhaps they had already adapted. Or maybe, to them, this was just another move — like changing homes. I couldn’t be sure.

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The U.S. had just begun supporting the Peshmerga, slightly improving the military situation. But for those on the ground, the crisis was still very real — and far from over.