War, death and pain are elements most Syrian refugee stories share, as a result they are often seen as victims, broken and beaten down by harrowing circumstances.
But it is out of those circumstances that perseverance is ignited, and a renewed commitment to life. Such is the story of Khebez Dawle, an indie rock band that consists of five Syrian refugees, who decided to choose music over despair.
The group's story started in 2010 at Damascus University, when then-student Anas Maghrebi formed a rock band with a group of his friends to follow his dream to make music. But not long after that, Syria unraveled into a destructive civil war, which left his band's drummer dead and his country no longer a hospitable place for musicians.
Sensing his dream slipping away, Maghrebi took off to Lebanon in 2013 and formed a new band, calling it Khebez Dawle, Arabic for "the state's bread" and a phrase commonly used in Syria to refer to a better life.
In Beirut, they found support from the community and started to write, record and perform their music. Lebanese musician Zeid Hamdan let them use his recording studio for months and through funds from the Arab Fund for Art And Culture and the Arab Culture Resource, they were able to complete their first album.
The band's music which is a mix of Syrian folk and Western rock, and is about their experiences with the circumstances that have engulfed their home country and defined their journey.
Their self-titled album, which was released in August, is a concept album which tells the story of a young Syrian man as he experiences the events of the Syrian uprising, but as they've said on their official website it narrates the story from a "humanitarian point of view, away from any polarizing political alignment."
Despite the positive turn of events for the band in Lebanon, they were still living an unstable life due to their refugee status. So after they released their album, the musicians took off again, this time for Europe.
They first reached the Greek island Lesbos, where they greeted tourists on the beach with smiles and copies of their album, something quite unexpected of refugees who had just crossed the Mediterranean in a rubber boat.
“Usually they see dinghies with hysterical looks, sad faces. Instead they saw happy faces, laughing, guys speaking English. We introduced ourselves as a band. Everybody was just shocked," Maghrebi told The Guardian .
“We were told we’re lucky enough to get this dinghy with just 16 guys. It was fun though, complicated fun.”
A week later, they were asked to play at a pro-refugee concert in Croatia, where they were staying at a refugee center. Then they played in a club in Zagreb and soon enough, they were being invited to perform in festivals around Europe.
Now, the band members are in Berlin applying for asylum and working on their new album, which like their first, is also inspired by their personal experiences. It's about the struggles that young Syrian refugees face as they leave everything they know behind and try to build a new life away from home.
As they prep for the album and plan upcoming shows across Europe, they hope that their music serves as a wake-up call to Europeans, telling them about the stories of refugees that they don't hear on the news.
Despite everything that they've been through, the young men have not only persevered, but enjoyed the ride. They haven't seen themselves as victims but as dreamers, committed to their dream to make music, no matter how many borders they have to cross to pursue it.
So why can't we all see refugees the same way?