Following in the footsteps of his slain brother, Mouneb (24) documents life

“Every photo is not just a snapshot. It is a moment from my life, from the lives of the people I met, and part of a bigger story we want to tell the world,” says Syrian photojournalist Mouneb Taim (24). He searched for images that offer new perspectives, starting in Syria, then in Turkey and finally in the Netherlands since 2023, where he lives in Rotterdam Zuid.

The photo that changed his life

He was able to learn the trade from his brother: “My brother photographed the revolution and documented the crimes of the Assad regime. I watched the way he spoke and everything he did, and secretly looked at his archive, fascinated by what he recorded.” But everything changed in 2014, during an airstrike on Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus. His brother wanted to document the events there, despite all the dangers, and was killed in the process.

“I took his camera and photographed his funeral. I cannot forget his face at the time. I saw the truth and courage in his eyes and I said to myself: he was right in what he did, even if the price was high.” From then on, Mouneb was determined to continue what his my brother had started.

Immortalising life in the midst of death

In 2014, Mouneb, 13 at the time, decided to travel among the besieged neighbourhoods in Ghouta. There, he witnessed the chemical attack, the siege and other horrors of war. But he did not just focus his camera on the destruction: “I saw children playing among the rubble, a musician playing guitar amid the devastation, a man feeding cats during the rest periods between airstrikes. These were also stories that needed to be told because they exemplify hope and fortitude.”

After years of siege in Ghouta, Mouneb managed to escape through tunnels in 2019 and then went to Turkey. There, he studied journalism and expanded his work. He recorded the lives of Syrians rebuilding their existence in different ways.
His work has been published by renowned media such as the New York Times and The Guardian, and used as documentation in the UN Security Council. His photos have been exhibited at international festivals and exhibitions, including at a photography exhibition in Rotterdam in 2021 (Rotterdam Photo 2021). Ironically, he was not in the Netherlands at the time.

A new beginning

In 2023, he landed in the Netherlands. But building his career here was not easy. About the contact with Dutch media, he says: “They did not try to see different perspectives of my photos, and to understand that I am not just a war photographer.” Mouneb says that more was asked of him than of colleagues: “Photographing, editing, writing comments, and more, as if I had to redouble my efforts to break the prejudices and prove myself constantly.” He was also told that it would be difficult to work in the media here because he was ‘not Dutch’.

But he did not give up. Mouneb covered local events and participated in important exhibitions, such as Rotterdam Photo 2024. And this time, he was able to be present at these himself. He received Dutch awards, such as the Van Gogh Award 2023 and Best Newcomer 2024. He was also nominated for the Zilveren Camera 2024, which is of great value to him: “This is recognition from the Dutch press.”

And it didn't stop there. He participated in various training courses, such as now ‘New Voices’ at RFG Media. He is also currently working on a book documenting the stories of Syrians in the Netherlands, both in text and photography, to redefine them. Mouneb: “The book covers their successes, despite their losses - family members, homes, sometimes even body parts. But they are not just refugees or unemployed, they are part of their new community. It is not just about the past, but about the future we are building here together.”
He concludes, “Photographs are not just snapshots, they are a means of writing history, of representing the real reality of human beings.”

The winning photos of the Silver Camera 2024 can be seen in a travelling exhibition. From 8 to 29 May 2025, the exhibition can be visited in Cultuurkoepel De Oosterkerk in Middelburg.