Syrians return to explosive remnants of war

• Prize
  Silver in Press/Feature Story
• Photographer
  Tom Nicholson, France
• Date of Photograph
  November 2025
• Website
  http://www.tnicholson.fr
• Instagram
  tnicholsonphoto

One year after the fall of the Assad regime, more than three million refugees and internally displaced Syrians have returned home to face the legacy of explosive remnants of war. Their homes, agricultural land and public buildings are contaminated with weapons, unexploded ordnance and discarded munitions. Deir ez-Zor in north-east Syria is one of the worst affected areas, where organisations continue to clear unexploded ordnance and provide help to victims. Children are often injured, losing limbs when they mistake explosives for toys. More than one in three people in the region is disabled.

Tom Nicholson is a British freelance photojournalist based in Paris, photographing news and features.

He studied BA Photojournalism at the London College of Communication where he graduated with a First Class Honours. He then worked from London for eight years, and was a stringer for Reuters news agency.

Since 2019, Tom was based part time in Lebanon, covering stories in the Middle East. He is now based in Paris, France, where he covers daily news as well as foreign assignments.