Living with war

"Living with War“ opens up a wide spectrum of conflicting and contrasting emotions and experiences of what life has meant to people in their hometown of Eastern Aleppo since the start of the civil war. Presenting original photos taken between 2013 and 2015 by a photojournalist from Eastern Aleppo, the series gives recognition to people in Eastern Aleppo who – by continuing to simply live their lives with resilience and inventiveness in the face of perilous circumstances. The series, therefore, illustrates the wide range of contrasting and conflicting experiences and emotions of people in Eastern Aleppo during the Syrian civil war. The photos capture moments of people resiliently trying to continue their ordinary everyday lives and refusing to become silent lifeless shells just walking around awaiting death amidst the brute military force inflicted on them. Anger, joy, grieve, fear, adventurousness, desperation, determination, solidarity, defiance, fatigue, excitement – the experience of living in Eastern Aleppo has been animated by a wide spectrum of emotions. With my own series, I am presenting in-depth, original photography from Eastern Aleppo. Drawing from my own experience of living in that area I aspire to create a nuanced view of how people are balancing the realities of war with their own personal everyday lives. The dynamics of the horrors of war and people’s everyday life routines are the interest of this series. Moreover, my goal is to give people of Eastern Aleppo their agency back, as humans. The project wants to engage viewers in the experiences and emotions of humans faced with brute military force inflicted on them by their own government. This series not only intends to generate empathy but to provoke a reflection on justice, responsibility and human dignity.