Hala El- Ehmed

Idlib- Two major earthquakes centered in Maraş have affected many cities of Turkey, Kurdistan and Syria. The earthquakes have killed and injured thousands of people in Syria. Aid convoys sent by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syriawere blocked by armed factions. Receiving no aid, the families struggle to survive outside of their houses.

 ‘I live on a farmland’

Rîm Fetrawî, 33, lives in the city of Selqin, west of Idlib. Since the earthquakes that struck Turkey, Kurdistan and Syria, she has lived on farmland with her three children. “The earthquakes have damaged our house and we cannot live in our house anymore. I live on farmland because I could not find a safer place and our economic condition is very bad and we cannot rent a house. We have received no humanitarian aid after the disaster. We have just received food aid. Last year, I lost my husband in a car crash. Now, I am alone,” Rîm Fetrawî told NuJINHA.

 ‘The earthquakes have left dozens orphaned’

Speaking about the earthquake day, 38-year-old Rewşa Xezel El-Safî, a resident of Idlib’s El-Tilûl village, said, “After the earthquake, we took shelter in the mountains with my husband and child. We have no other place to go. So far, the earthquake survivors have received no aid. Most villagers left their houses without taking anything. The earthquakes have left dozens orphaned.”

 ‘I do not know where to go’

14-year-old Rexed Abdul Mumin has lost her parents in the earthquakes. She settled in a camp near Idlib’s Atma town with her brothers. Her eyes filled with tears, Rexed Abdul Munim said, “I do not know where to go, we have no relatives here.”