The war-ravaged streets of east Aleppo were once lively neighbourhoods, home to more than two million people, including Hamid Alanizan and his wife and children.
Now, the life is gone, and home for them and many others is far, far away.
"You cannot live there. It is death, it's war ... very, very hard. Where we used to live, there is no life any more."
But now they have a new life in Newcastle, New South Wales.
The coastal city, 160 kilometres north of Sydney, is Australia's seventh largest.
Hamid Alanizan says he only ever wanted his family to be safe and he felt that as soon they resettled in Newcastle two months ago.
"We don't want anything but safety. When I got here, this is what I'm feeling the most, beside everything else. I am mostly happy, because I feel safe."
Mr Alanizan and his wife Shaha have been attending English lessons and orientation sessions to help them with the transition.
Their children are enrolled at a local school, where they, too, are learning English.
Shaha Alanizan says life in Newcastle is a world away from the life she and her family fled.
"Life in Australia is very beautiful. The kids are comfortable, they're learning, and we are comfortable."
The family has been granted permanent visas to live in Australia as part of the Federal Government's effort to resettle 12,000 people displaced by the war in Syria and Iraq.
After a slow start, around 8,000 have arrived.
And around 120 have resettled in Newcastle.
Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes says the city is an ideal place for the refugees to settle.
"Newcastle is a beautiful city, and we've got a very proud history of being inclusive. You know, I'm very happy that we are one of the places designated to take the Syrian refugees."
Since May, Newcastle has welcomed almost 200 refugees overall.
And the region is set to receive close to 200 more under the special humanitarian visa over the next six months.
Ashraf Naddaf, from Newcastle's Islamic Association, has been helping the Alanizans and other new arrivals settle into the community.
"You'll see a lot of women wearing the veil or wearing the hijab around in shopping centres, in shops. So people start to realise that it's multicultural, Newcastle."
The locals have not always been so accepting.
At the local mosque two years ago, a worshipper was assaulted after finishing evening prayers.
A week later, a pig's head was thrown into the courtyard.
But Mr Naddaf says the attacks were isolated and there have not been any such incidents since then.
He sees it as a different time.
"I would say this is just a lack of knowledge. Some people, they were afraid of having new people to the community. I don't think there's any problem now."
The Lord Mayor says the overwhelming majority of people in Newcastle are accepting of different cultures and faiths.
"It was just broadly condemned, not just by myself but every other community leader, business leader, individual in Newcastle."
That support came in the form of flowers and a card from locals pledging support for the Islamic community.
And for Hamid Alanizan and his family, their experience of Newcastle, he says, has been nothing but positive.
"All people welcome us and they like us. (They're) very nice people, starting from our neighbours to the furthest person. That's what I saw. I only saw a good welcome. I did not see any negative things."
