Şervan Nergiz from the ANHA news agency created an impressive photo reportage about the Northern Syrian city of Til Temir (Tal Tamr), whose inhabitants have been declared terrorists by the Turkish state and are subject to permanent attacks.

The bells of the church and the sound of azan echo in the city.

Syriacs, Armenians, Kurds and Arabs have built a life together. Their shops, their houses and holy places are in direct neighbourhood.

Shots echo in the corridors of the schools all the time. Children of different religions, ethnicities and languages are in the same situation.

Although many classes are empty: The children thrive and are full of hope in the classroom despite this threatening atmosphere .

 

The children are at school, the mothers on the street, the sons and daughters at the front.

In the defense units of Til Temir Arabs and Kurds are side by side.

Two graves next to each other: Within a few days two martyrs, a Kurd and an Arab, arrived.

At the funeral of a Kurdish fighter in Til Temir.

At the funeral of an Arab fighter in Til Temir.

Kurdish and Arab lamentations can be heard over the city. The different population groups unite in common struggle and common grief.

To capture the pain of a mother who has lost her son on a photograph is hardly possible.

An Arab family, displaced by the troops of the so-called Syrian National Army (SNA), tries to settle down in a house without windows and doors and to protect itself from the cold and rain.

People are united in spirit.

Although the people in the city speak different languages and have different cultural and religious identities, the population always comes together. When commemorating the martyrs of the city, people share their pain just as they celebrate Christmas together in church the next day.

As life goes on, shadows hang over the city.

These shadows are visible in the air and on the ground. The Russian troops try to make their presence felt at every opportunity. When helicopters circle over the city, children make the victory sign.

Even though the threat is great and tension is running throughout the city, life continues in Til Temir.