It is not easy to get their stories. Not all of them are ready to speak—let alone to strangers. They also agree to be photographed only if they are promised no frontal pictures will be exposed. Their accounts constitute a mix of bitterness and optimism about a better life. Here are the stories of Maria, Magdalena, Mazmur and Yakob (not their real names), who stay at the Surya Kasih Hospice.

Maria (33)

“Don’t you get married, wait till M