Maziad Aloush, a former school teacher fleeing the Syrian war, led his band of refugees through five countries—across the Mediterranean sea and through forests and around mountains—before they eventually disbanded near the border of Austria and Germany. Like so many of the hundreds of thousands of refugees pouring into Europe to escape war and deprivation, he documented his journey in real-time on Instagram.

In several posts on the photograph-sharing app, Maziad showed a different side of the arduous journey than what Western audiences are usually exposed to. A group of young men, who could easily be mistaken for hikers on a particularly difficult trail – tired but full of life – pose for photos that pepper Maziad’s Instagram feed. And though it is true that refugees and migrants often face life-threatening deprivation, the images are a stark contrast to photographs typically depicted in the media, which often show them in distress, or living in poverty.

Smartphones are a staple in this migration, as they allow migrants to communicate with international agencies, according to a recent New York Times report. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has given out 33,000 SIM cards to Syrian refugees in Jordan and 85,704 solar lanterns for cellphone charging, theTimes reported.

Smartphones also help keep friends and family up to date. Messaging tools like WhatsApp allow easy and instant communication in what can be high-pressure situations, and built-in GPS can open new paths to crossing unchartered, and likely treacherous, territory. Beyond that, some Facebook groups help facilitate border crossings—being able to connect with those groups instantaneously can mean the difference between making it across and not.

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