Children play in a prison courtyard, while adults divide a cell inside between several families. They are among hundreds of thousands of people uprooted by war who are starting the New Year far from home. The only shelter available for this group fleeing the violence in northwest Syria was an abandoned jail. According to the United Nations, 284,000 people fled their homes near the town of Maaret al-Noman in December alone. That's when the fighting reached a peak as government forces try to retake the jihadist-run region.