"We are human and we want to live our normal life." Read the stories of Syrians who still live in Aleppo
Published: Mar 16, 2015 Reading time: 3 minutes
Here in the city of Aleppo, there is ever present darkness and violent clashes have characterized the sights and sounds of Syrian’s everyday lives. Here, you can hear no sound but the sound of artillery machines. Here, fear has no place after these four long years, and here, the warmness of these kind-hearted people and their love attracts you.
Here, love of life, land, fields, and even a love of the air that carries memories of this formerly whole city is apparent, though only one or two of its residents can remember it as it was. Abu Ibrahim is sixty-four years old with a pleasantly wrinkled face. Om Ibrahim, his wife, is fifty and full of life. The couple resides in the area of Tal Alzarazeer around the Cement Factory, a well known area long disputed as the city’s open frontier. They have witnessed frequent clashes and fights- their neighborhood was shelled with barrels twice. They have lived here for thirty years, during which time they grew to love the buildings and the people. Now, only whispers and winds exist, though they remember fondly the animals they used to raise and the fields they used to work.
Their memories are not all good. The past four years have brought the cruelest remembrances of things that no logic can accept or believe- of killing, of fighting, and of sniping. However, they wanted to maintain their dignity and their home, so they have lived simply and have spent their nights without electricity or water. Living in a place that is essentially a frontier is dangerous for the families that have children- they need almost one hour to reach the nearest market. Abu Ibrahim defends his decision to stay saying, “for my wife and I, staying in our home and in our country is the best option. We do not want to be humiliated when we are in this stage of our life. We are human and we want to live our normal life with our cats and our plants. No other country can provide us with such normality, “ he added.
This couple is an example of dignity, love, and hope in a harrowing situation. The embodiment of this hope may even enable the Ibrahims to stay for four other years, despite the direness of the situation. Mere hundreds of meters separate Abu Ibrahim from his lands in the regime areas nearby, but he still hopes to reclaim them. He and his wife guard their area from theft, and they work daily to remove the artillery wreckage. They also still water the flowers and plants on their street because they still have hope that the world - after four years of pain, migration, suffering, and killing - will open its eyes to what is happening, and will help Syria recover.