Reyhanli , TURKEY -- In a small, unused shop front that serves as their home in this town on the Turkey-Syria border, four year-old Samira and her two year-old brother Mohammed take turns kissing the tiny new addition to their family. Baby Ibrahim was born on June 22. When we first met the family, mother Um Mohammed was seven months pregnant. They have lived in this small room for almost a year and a half now, having fled their home in Hama, Syria which was destroyed by heavy shelling.
"I had difficulties during my pregnancy. But thanks to God, I was able to overcome these (and deliver a healthy baby)," she said. "My children and I suffered a lot because of the weather, and the hunger and the lack of money."
Her husband, Abu Mohammed, stayed behind in Syria to fight against government forces when the family fled across the border. But he managed slip into Turkey briefly to be with his wife for the delivery.
"I wish my son to live a better life than the one we are going through now," he said. "I want him to go to school and I would like to see him become a lawyer in the future so he can defend those who are oppressed."
Baby Ibrahim was named after Abu Mohammed's 22 year-old brother, who was imprisoned by government forces two years ago. Ibrahim's whereabouts remain unknown -- his family has no way to confirm whether he's alive or dead.
"This child will replace a young man, someone else's son, who has been lost in the war," Um Mohammed said. "I hope that he will go back and live in Syria, and that he will have a better life. I wish him a normal life, so he won't have to be afraid from hearing the sounds of bombings, so he doesn't have to cry not knowing where to hide."
A week after Ibrahim was born, his father returned to Syria to rejoin the rebels.