The destruction of the earthquake Photo Twitter @saloojeemaseeha
Syria – Survivors of the 7.8 and 7.6 magnitude earthquake were dealt with more trauma and loss after another deadly quake struck the Turkey-Syria border region. The 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck on Monday evening with its epicentre being in the Defne district of Turkey’s Hatay province.
This comes as a major blow to Syria who are still trying to deal with the aftermath of the first two major quakes. Turkey has already ended immediate aid relief and is now looking towards long term solutions. Syria, on the other hand, is still trying to provide immediate aid relief to its people.
One of the main reasons for this is the conflict currently ongoing between rebels and the government of Bashar Assad. Sanctions have been placed on the country since 2011 when the Syrian government sparked a civil war by brutally cracking down on anti-government demonstrations during the so-called Arab Spring. The majority of Syria is controlled by the government, however, the northwest is divided between land de facto controlled by Turkey and by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Syria’s northeast is mostly held by the U.S.-backed Kurdish-led groups.
Damage to the Hatay airport and the road to the border crossing used for aid, Bab al-Hawa, meant aid shipment was delayed. The United Nations mandate for delivering aid to the country only allows it to enter through Bab al-Hawa. Countries are also opposed to giving aid to Assad as they don’t trust the Syrian authorities to distribute the aid fairly and to opposition areas.
Aid being delayed to Syria
When the first two earthquakes struck on February 6, many international companies came to the aid of Turkey. Syria, however, was left to fend for itself. During the first week after the quakes aid was not able to easily enter the country. The only reason its borders were opened was to transport the bodies of Syrians, who died in Turkey, back to Syria, said Maseeha Saloojee, a humanitarian and educator at Miftaahul Falaah based in Syria.
“It took about five days for the borders to open and Alhamdulillah (Praise be to God), once it opened, there was a lot of aid that came in. At one point there were 17 trucks and at another point I remember noticing trucks of mattresses going by. It was really good to see because we ran out of tents, mattresses and out of blankets. People were basically sleeping in Musjids, schools and their friend’s houses.”
Another issue that had to be dealt with was those who were living close to the rivers. After the earthquake, the river rose considerably and many homes were flooded, said Saloojee. This compounded the problems the rescue and aid teams had to face.
“The first week was mainly focused on getting financial aid so that we could try and help here. The main things we did were food packs, hot meals and bread. What we also did was mention a few drop off points in the liberated areas where people with extra could then bring their things to give away. That was a huge help as well.”
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A lack of heavy machinery to save those under the rubble
When the quakes first struck, Turkey was able to mobilise heavy machinery to deal with the rubble and thus save a lot of lives. In Syria, getting heavy machinery was “a bit of an issue”. Saloojees’ husband was part of a rescue team. They used their hands, buckets and other equipment to remove huge slabs to get to those trapped underneath it.
“The first day, one of our friends and their family passed away. They were on the fifth floor in an area that was quite badly hit. The entire building collapsed on them. It took almost the entire day to find their bodies because they basically brought jacks, chainsaws, tried with their hands and these kinds of things to lift it [the rubble] off. There were no tractors available. They used whatever they could get their hands on to move around blocks of stone and just get under it.”
It took them around 36 hours to get to them. In places where it was unsure if people were in the buildings or not was even worse. While they do have extractors, it “took a while to get around” because of the devastation. Heavy machinery did come in around the fourth day. Up until a few days ago, people were still trying to get to the bottom of the rubble in the hopes of finding their belongings.
The earthquake that struck on Monday
The earthquake on Monday has so far claimed six lives. According to Saloojee the hardest hit areas are Saraqib and Atarib. A lot of the houses were destroyed or extremely badly damaged in the first twin earthquakes. Whatever remained has now been destroyed by this earthquake.
“It was very scary because myself and the people in my area felt it was stronger than the first one we felt. Of course it wasn’t in terms of numbers. The epicentre may have been closer to us than the first one. It was really just out of the blue and I thought it was going to be a copy of the first one. Alhamdulillah, it didn’t last as long as the first one did … Things shook really badly here. That’s why even tonight we are not sleeping in the house but rather in the tent. Everyone is just spooked.”
People are rightfully scared to go back into their homes for refuge.. While explaining the situation in Syria, Saloojee had to pause as an aftershock took place. The houses that still stand have huge cracks in them and people are afraid an aftershock can bring the building down.
“Unfortunately, many homes built here, especially after the revolution, have been built with cheap materials and proper jobs were not done. It can’t withstand any severe hitting. People are afraid to stay in their homes and we have a tent behind our home. Three families came over and we all slept in the tent after the earthquake.”
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The needs of Syria
According to Saloojee Syria desperately needs tents. People have lost homes to the earthquake as well as to the floods. There are houses where entire walls have collapsed and people are terrified of what the next aftershock can bring with it.
“I have received at least three messages from friends asking about tents and these are not people who are destitute or in the worst of situations. These are people who are afraid because parts of their house have been damaged. They are afraid that if anything worse happens or anything to the extent of what has happened, their houses won’t be able to withstand that test.”
The priority is to first shelter the homeless and after that to create sort of an earthquake shelter for people. The idea is to have a place people can seek refuge in when an earthquake or an aftershock is taking place.
“They want to set up tent shelters that people can go to when there’s an earthquake so that it’s less of a risk than in brick and motor homes.”
Saloojee has called on the Ummah to continue to make Dua as Dua “is the weapon of the believer”. Before the earthquake, there were many projects taking place such as the buildings of schools and hospitals. Life was slowly returning to normal but with the current situation and the lack of resources, Saloojee is unsure when the people of Syria will reach that point and continue to move forward.
