Syrian refugees adapt to life in Iraqi Kurdistan – in pictures

The Sahela border crossing between Syria and the Kurdistan region of Iraq. When the border reopened in August 2013, more than 33,000 refugees crossed in just five days. Now, about 1,000 arrive every day Photograph: Christian Jepsen/Norwegian Refugee Council

Refugees walk the three-mile dirt road snaking through no-man’s land to the Kurdish region of Iraq. The Sahela crossing is the main escape route for Syrians of Kurdish origin Photograph: Christian Jepsen/Norwegian Refugee Council

The first checkpoint in the Kurdish region of Iraq. Soldiers offer cold water to exhausted refugees while checking personal papers and searching luggage Photograph: Christian Jepsen/Norwegian Refugee Council

A Syrian mother and her children wait at the Sahela arrival centre. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and local authorities are responsible for registering refugees Photograph: Christian Jepsen/Norwegian Refugee Council

Refugees say their children were suffering in Syria, and acute violence was an everyday threat. One mother said: “All of these children have seen violence and death with their own eyes.” Photograph: Christian Jepsen/Norwegian Refugee Council

The International Organisation for Migration transports refugees from the border to camps and improvised emergency refugee sites that have mushroomed across northern Iraq Photograph: Christian Jepsen/Norwegian Refugee Council

A mother and child are just two of 1,278 new arrivals awaiting transport under the scorching September sun Photograph: Christian Jepsen/Norwegian Refugee Council

It is increasingly difficult to find adequate shelter. New sites are opening in unlikely places, such as this youth sports centre. The pool sits empty; the tennis and basketball courts have been transformed into communal spaces Photograph: Christian Jepsen/Norwegian Refugee Council

A family finds shelter in a tent on a basketball court in Dohuk governorate, northern Iraq. Improvised emergency sites are used while more adequate sites are prepared Photograph: Christian Jepsen/Norwegian Refugee Council

The Kawergosk camp, which opened in August, is home to 13,000 new arrivals. It is a testament to the commitment of the Kurdish region of Iraq – when refugees started to cross the border, the local government ordered the army to prepare the site and distribute water and food Photograph: Christian Jepsen/Norwegian Refugee Council

A latrine is being constructed at the Kawergosk refugee camp. Humanitarian organisations are assisting the local authorities in providing key facilities such as safe water and sanitation Photograph: Christian Jepsen/Norwegian Refugee Council

A girl turns the tap on the first water point at the Kawergosk refugee camp Photograph: Christian Jepsen/Norwegian Refugee Council

A family living in an army tent in Kawergosk refugee camp. They say 20 people were killed by bombs dropped near their home in the city of Qamishli, Syria Photograph: Christian Jepsen/Norwegian Refugee Council

Hamrin, 11, and her family crossed the border in August. She hopes to be enrolled in a school in the Kawergosk camp, and one day become a teacher Photograph: Christian Jepsen/Norwegian Refugee Council