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The Things They’re Carrying: Migrants’ Most Cherished Belongings (Photos)

The Road

Reuters photographers captured the most prized possessions a few migrants are bringing with them, on the way to what they hope is a better life.

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Marko Djurica / Reuters
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A combination picture shows Afghan migrant Ali, 15, displaying his religious possessions near the border with Hungary in the town of Subotica, Serbia, in early May. Ali says he wants to go to Belgium to meet his friends and to finish high school. He traveled for 20 days through Iran, Turkey, and Bulgaria to reach Serbia.

Marko Djurica/Reuters
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Pakistani migrant Mohamed Ayub, 51, holds the most valuable item he currently owns, his empty wallet, at a deserted hotel used by immigrants for temporary shelter on the Greek island of Kos.

Yannis Behrakis / Reuters
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Honduran migrant Gerson Leonel Bardal, shown on the patio of the Posada Belen migrant shelter in Saltillo, Mexico on June 3,  says his rain poncho is his most precious belonging. That’s because it keeps him dry when it rains and prevents him from catching a cold on his way to the U.S. border.

Daniel Becerril / Reuters
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Libyan migrant Icham El Korati, 38, and his belongings at the railway station in Nice, France, on June 3. Icham, who left his country in March 2011 because of war, says he was a taxi driver and owner of a coffee bar in Misrata.

Eric Gaillard / Reuters
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Honduran migrant Rudy Williams says his backpack holds his most precious belongings: deodorant, a pair of clean socks, and a pair of jeans. He was at the Posada Belen shelter in Saltillo, Mexico, on June 3.

Daniel Becerril / Reuters
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Said Youssef, 30, a rapper from Ghana, wields his mobile phone in Oujda, in northern Morocco, on June 11. Youssef aims to cross the border into Spain's north African enclave of Melilla and realize his dream to be a professional singer.

Youssef Boudlal / Reuters
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Syrian migrant Feras, 22, and his possessions. He aims to be a computer technician in Germany.

Antonio Parrinello / Reuters
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Abdel Bachir, 20, a migrant from Chad, and a pair of his shoes at a makeshift camp where he lives in front of the Austerlitz train station in the southeast of Paris.

Benoit Tessier / Reuters

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