It’s the sixth anniversary of the War in Syria this month, and itt has been three months since the Syrian government announced it had regained full control of the city of Aleppo. 

In Aleppo, the reconstruction is underway, but progress has been slow and most of the displaced are housed in crowded shelter centers, with little hope of returning home soon.

Um Hasan’s 12-strong family fled a battle zone about a year ago. After pro-government forces started the final battle for Aleppo, her family was displaced again with eastern Aleppo civilians and arrived in a shelter. Aid organizations have helped, but life in her new temporary home is extremely hard. 

The living room and kitchen are separated by just a cloth. The roof is a thin plastic board. But all 12 members of Um Hasan’s family live in such conditions. They don't have enough quilts and the family has got through the winter nights of the last few months by burning wood. 

Since there are no jobs, and no market nearby, Um Hasan started planting vegetables like parsley, lettuce and onions in front of their shelter. It helps put some vegetables on the family dinner table and it gives her something to pass the time. 

There is also no electricity in the area. So while she's tending to her vegetables, Um Hasan also puts some solar power flashlights on the ground to charge them. That way the family has a few hours of light each night. 

Um Hasan told us she really wants to go back to the city. But because of the war, her house is not there anymore. 

“Where can we go back to? There is looting and no electricity or water... not even the basic requirements for living. We had a two-room house and the two rooms in addition to our neighbors’ are all destroyed.”

Thousands of Aleppo civilians have no place to live but in shelter centers. With the ongoing conflict and slow reconstruction, people in Aleppo face an unsteady future.