HUFFINGTON POST

Powerful Images Show Fathers Caring For Their Children On The Refugee Trail

These dads are heroes.
By Willa Frej

Some of the dads who deserve particular recognition this Father's Day are those who day in and day out risk their own lives to protect their children and seek out a safer future for them.

War and instability in countries like Syria and Iraq have prompted millions of people to pull together a few belongings and flee with their children in tow.

Refugees face incredible hardships when they leave their homes -- smugglers who charge thousands of dollars for a spot in a dinghy boat headed to Europe; refugee camps where people live outdoors in squalor; and increasingly slim chances at being granted asylum in a safe country, to name a few .

Through the adversity, these fathers display unbounded courage and stoicism, all in the name of offering their families a better life.

Scroll down to see some of the heartwarming moments caught on camera of dads protecting their kids along this often perilous and terrifying journey:

  • 1
    A Syrian refugee holds onto his children as he struggles to walk off a dinghy on the Greek island of Lesbos, after crossing a
    Yannis Behrakis / Reuters
    A Syrian refugee holds onto his children as he struggles to walk off a dinghy on the Greek island of Lesbos, after crossing a part of the Aegean Sea from Turkey.
  • 2
    Syrian refugee Saad sleeps next to his 10-day-old daughter, Yasmine, who was born at a Greek hospital in Idomeni.
    Alexandros Avramidis / Reuters
    Syrian refugee Saad sleeps next to his 10-day-old daughter, Yasmine, who was born at a Greek hospital in Idomeni.
  • 3
    A Syrian refugee carries his daughter covered with a blanket, after being rescued at open sea, as they arrive at the port of
    Alkis Konstantinidis / Reuters
    A Syrian refugee carries his daughter covered with a blanket, after being rescued at open sea, as they arrive at the port of Mytilene on Greek island of Lesbos.
  • 4
    A Syrian refugee holds his baby as he waits on a roadside near a beach in the western Turkish coastal town of Dikili, Turkey,
    Umit Bektas / Reuters
    A Syrian refugee holds his baby as he waits on a roadside near a beach in the western Turkish coastal town of Dikili, Turkey, after Turkish gendarmes prevented them from sailing off for the Greek island of Lesbos by dinghies.
  • 5
    A sub-Saharan migrant holds his child while sitting on the deck of the Migrant Offshore Aid Station ship MV Phoenix in Vibo V
    Darrin Zammit Lupi / Reuters
    A sub-Saharan migrant holds his child while sitting on the deck of the Migrant Offshore Aid Station ship MV Phoenix in Vibo Valentia, Italy. Many refugees attempt to cross into Italy via Libya.
  • 6
    A man with his baby wait at another refugee camp after escaping from a forced evacuation of the camp in Idomeni, Gr
    Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
    A man with his baby wait at another refugee camp after escaping from a forced evacuation of the camp in Idomeni, Greece.
  • 7
    Syrian refugees are welcomed to the United States at a party in their honor at the North Hudson Islamic Educational Center in
    Damon Dahlen/Huffington Post
    Syrian refugees are welcomed to the United States at a party in their honor at the North Hudson Islamic Educational Center in Union City, New Jersey.
  • 8
    A Syrian refugee girl is lifted by her father soon after arriving on a dinghy at a beach on the Greek island of Lesbos after
    Yannis Behrakis / Reuters
    A Syrian refugee girl is lifted by her father soon after arriving on a dinghy at a beach on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing a part of the Aegean Sea from Turkey September 18, 2015. 
Reporter, HuffPost
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