Strength and resilience – themes that Marissa picks up in her photographs showing Syrian refugees, who met each other in the asylum seekers camp in Alphen a/d Rijn in 2015 after being forced to cross national borders. After one of their fellow residents committed suicide in the camp, they took the initiative to convert the stories of other refugees into a theatre piece. They founded Fada Theatre to change the image of refugees among Dutch citizens and to present productions themed around integration and trauma. Marissa wanted to portray them not just as refugees: “They are warm-hearted, talented people. As opposed to the struggle and pain they have endured, I wanted to capture the playfulness, the happiness they experience and bring forth.”