Stories from the Earthquake

Many families left homeless by the earthquake are sheltering in schools and churches in Northern Syria. Our partner the Middle East Council of Churches is helping to get vital supplies to them. Some of the families at one shelter in Sulaymaniyah shared their stories:

“We can’t take any new grief! Doesn’t the hardship of these days have an end? I can’t forget the terrifying moments when the earthquake hit. I don’t know how I managed to take my two children in my arms and run with my wife into the street. 10 days since the earthquake, my kids are still today afraid to sleep, cry when they are in a closed room and think that the ceiling will collapse and fall on us.

The health and food kits that the Middle East Council of Churches provided us with can support us for a good period of time. The food basket includes varieties of nutritious food items. The health kits also include useful materials. The shelter we went to is not equipped, even tissue papers, soap and sanitizers are not available.  

We still need more assistance, especially a financial subsidy to rent a house. We can’t stay in the shelter, as it is a school including wooden chairs and one bathroom, and a big number of families have taken refuge in it.”

 

A 50-year-old woman said:

“I lost my home and all my memories… I lost everything. The walls that fell down carried the last remaining memories of my son, who died as a martyr in the war. My neighbours and I took refuge in a shelter which is not equipped and we still need many things. The Middle East Council of Churches provided us with a health kit and a food kit, and this is what I need now because I no longer have money to buy food. I lost all my money under the rubble. I do not know how we will be able to live in a house away from shelters. I am a widow and I have no breadwinner except my brother, whose house also was destroyed. If we could rent a house to live in, we will still need essential household necessities such as kitchen materials and others.”

 

One father, who was in the shelter with his wife and children, told us:

“On the 6th of February, we woke up to a very powerful earthquake; we rushed to the street in our pyjamas, and the first place we took refuge in was the public garden, then we came to the shelter. Amidst the tragedy we live due to the war, the earthquake was a fatal blow… I am a worker and I only get paid for the days I work. Since the earthquake struck, I have not been able to work. So, I really appreciate what MECC provided me with: the food basket includes nutritious and needed food materials for my children; and the health kit is also useful and includes the needed soap, shampoo and sanitizers, as a big number of families reside in this unequipped shelter.”