If there’s anyone in Ritsona camp who’s confident about the future, it’s Berivan.

 

“Since I was eight, I’ve known I’m going to be an eye doctor,” she says.

She whips out a pencil and draws a diagram of an eyeball with a tear duct next to it. “Did you know that when people cry, it comes from a sack next to the eye?” She pauses and points to her chest. “Of course, it also comes from the heart.

​

Berivan’s family will be leaving the camp soon to continue their asylum process in Athens, a move that she has mixed emotions about.

​

“I won’t get to see my friends as much, because they’ll be too far away. But I also won’t have to see any more bugs or rats.” She shudders. “I hate rats.”

​

 

Photo & Story: Allison Voigts