NEW YORK, NY.- Award-winning photographer Nish Nalbandian spent three years documenting life and war in Northern Syria from the frontlines to the everyday lives of people struggling to survive amid the ruins. A selection of photographs from this powerful body of work were published in Nalbandian's critically acclaimed first monograph A Whole World Blind (Daylight, 2016). In 2014, as the situation in Syria escalated and it was becoming too dangerous to stay there, Nalbandian decided to shift his focus to another story close by: the lives of the nearly three million Syrian refugees still living in southern Turkey. Nalbandian's humanistic portraits of Syrians in Turkey are published in his second book: A Handful of Dust (Daylight Books, April 2018).

While most Western media was covering the "Migrant Crisis" of 2015 when over a million Syrian refugees crossed into Europe, Nalbandian spent several years chronicling the lives of Syrians from all walks of life who ended up in Turkey. Most of these refugees don't live in camps. They live in Turkish towns and cities, alongside their new Turkish neighbors. While many are poor, and most find themselves in precarious positions, there are also working class, middle class, and wealthy Syrians who have made this exodus.

How well they adapt to their new communities range from full integration and the ability to obtain legal residency or even citizenship, to squatting and being completely out of the system, taking whatever jobs they can. What they share in common is resilience and the desire to give their children a better life in a country that has become their home for now, beyond the horrors they left behind in Syria.

In the book's introduction, Nalbandian writes: "My intent in this book was not to produce a 'poor refugee' story, showing sad pictures of exotic Middle Eastern people living in poverty. I do have some pictures like that. But I challenged myself to show a wide swath of the Syrian population from all walks of life. I do not claim to show a complete picture, just a broad picture of what life is like for these people in this place at this time. I also tried to leave people's politics and specifics of the war out of it."

A Handful of Dust includes supporting texts by Pulitzer Prize winning Mexican Photographer Javier Manzano ("Fleeing the Fires of War"), Syrian refugee and activist Aref Krez ("Before Aleppo Burned"), author and filmmaker Greg Campbell ("The Refugee In All Of Us") and reporter and writer Carmen Gentile ("Resilient Refugees"), who worked with Nalbandian on some of the stories featured in this book.

In his essay, Arez Krez (pictured above left), who now lives in Turkey with his daughter, remembers growing up in the al-Myassar neighborhood, east of the city of Aleppo: "...Full of wonders this neighborhood was, where you would find all types of people. Intellectuals who used to smoke long Alhamra cigarettes, and drink wine secretly from a bag with a straw ... Bus drivers who listened to Fairuz in the morning (and cursed all mornings), and sometimes listened to sad songs ... Bakeries were crowded with people in the early mornings and almost empty after nine a.m. The sound of boys playing football in the streets, setting up tins and garbage cans as goals. My father would go to his job early in the morning. My mother would drink her coffee with her sisters and my uncles' wives and our neighbors, with eternal talk about the daily dish, ready to start their marathon to find the best vegetables at the lowest prices."

In his essay, Greg Campbell writes, "In his noble effort to capture the daily reality of Syrian refugees, from the harrowing to the whimsical, Nish has done more than simply document a dark chapter in their lives and in world history. Look carefully and see that he has also uncovered their unique -- but ultimately common -- humanity that is evident in those small familiar details. Look at the clothing, the body language, the facial expressions. But most importantly, look into their eyes. If you can even see a little bit of yourself -- a small glimmer of recognition -- then there is hope yet."

Carmen Gentile has covered the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and numerous bouts of unrest throughout the world. He was seriously injured while reporting in Afghanistan, an experience he chronicles in his book Kissed by the Taliban. He worked with Nalbandian on several of the stories presented in this book.

Javier Manzano is an award-winning Mexican photographer known for his coverage of the country's drug wars, the war in Afghanistan, and the Syrian civil war. Manzano is the first freelance photographer to receive the Pulitzer Prize since 1996, which was awarded to him for his work in Syria.

Greg Campbell is a bestselling nonfiction author and an award-winning documentary filmmaker. He lives in Denver Colorado.

Arez Krez is a Syrian activist and refugee who lives in Turkey. He enjoys a comfortable middle-class life because of his job working for an American NGO. He is pictured in the book with his daughter Perla.

Documentary photographer Nish Nalbandian has photographed in more than 35 countries worldwide, in a variety of situations and environments, from wars to sporting events, cities to remote deserts. His work has appeared in such diverse outlets as The Human Rights Watch World Report, The Los Angeles Times, NPR, The New Yorker, National Geographic Traveler, and The Times of London. His first monograph, A Whole World Blind: War and Life In Northern Syria (Daylight Books, 2016) received critical acclaim in such outlets as Smithsonian Magazine, The Daily Beast, Vice, American Photo, Square Mile Magazine, Lensculture and The New York Review of Books. Nalbandian's work has been shown in the New York Photo Festival, Powerhouse Arena, and IPA Best in Show in New York, and in exhibitions around the world. He has received many honors, including: Applied Art's 2014 'Best Portrait Series' Award (Portraits of the Syrian Opposition); American Photography AP30 (Aleppo Struggles On); First Prize, IPA (International Photography Awards) Editorial/Conflict (Aleppo Struggles On); and Lensculture's Top 50 Emerging Talent Award for 2014.