The city has been experiencing a period of financial/economic 'hardship'.
They had to endure the 'hardships' of life on the frontier.
He had suffered through considerable/great 'hardship'.
(..) MARCUS: You can't put it into a chip. It's the strength of the human heart. The difference between us and machines. JOHN: There is a storm on the horizon. A time of hardship and pain. This battle has been won, but the war against the machines rages on. Skynet's global network remains strong. (..)2009 Terminator Salvation