Yalla Habibi (Living with War in Aleppo)

Yalla Habibi – Living with War in Aleppo gives recognition to people in Eastern Aleppo who have continued their everyday lives with resilience and inventiveness amidst perilous circumstances. The pictures from Hosam Katan’s hometown, taken between 2013 and 2015, capture moments of the conflicting and contrasting experiences and emotions of these people. Anger, joy, grieve, fear, adventurousness, desperation, determination, solidarity, defiance, fatigue, excitement – having to live with war all of these emotions can change in an instant. The book shows people balancing the horrors of war with a sense of normalcy and trying to retain their dignity. Although the news coverage of the conflict in Syria, and especially from Aleppo, has waned, it is important to keep up the dialog because the conflict is far from being over. »Yalla Habibi (Come on my dear)!« as people would say in Arabic. The book is dedicated to to the German photographer Anja Niedringhaus, who died in 2014.