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Covid-19: The woman who survived the Syrian war - but not coronavirus

Zabel Hamalian lived in Aleppo, Syria, and died there in August, 2020, at the age of 78. Her nephew Hrag Vartanian, who lives in the US, describes how stylish she loved to be and how she was a teacher to generations of children in Aleppo.

"I remember her as the highly-coiffed, and very independent and intelligent aunt who loved to look chic - and she always did, he said. "It's a cruel reality - how you survived a war but have been taken from us now."

11 September 2020 marks six months since Covid-19 was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organisation.

Photo: Zabel Hamalian Credit: Lena Varjabedia

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