Syrians alleviate wounds of the earthquake-affected children

Aleppo/Lattakia – SANA- Despite the painful scenes of death and destruction that the world witnessed through TV channels and social media aftermath the devastating earthquake that struck Syria on February 6th, the world is still witnessing amazing stories of courage, altruism, giving, and extending a hand of help and support to the Syrian people in the earthquake- stricken provinces which give inspiring examples in humanity and reflect emulated moral values.

Though the earthquake claimed the lives of 1,414 citizens and injured more than of 2,357 others according to the statistics of the Ministry of Health in Syria which included victims of different ages, the children who survived and were fortunate to preserve their lives have formed the most affected part by the negative psychological effects they were exposed to from the disaster, but thanks to the efforts of nearby people who extended a hand for help,  a new ray of hope arose in front of them to start their lives again.

Human stories that shake the conscience and stories that capture hearts about children who lost their families or whose parents were severely injured in the aftermath of the earthquake. A black curtain almost fell on their lives, but they rose again with courage and faith thanks to the support of their relatives and  neighbors who had white hands and hearts filled with passion for humanity, love and solidarity, to stress to the whole world that the Syrian “mosaic” that emerged from this disaster will be able to overcome all difficulties and ordeals to draw a better future.

Among the stories coming from under the rubble is the story of two children Muhammad and Ahmed Obji from Aleppo, who were surrounded by Mrs. Um Muhammad with love, tenderness, and great parental care, in which she compensated them for the absence of their mother, who was seriously injured in the earthquake, in intensive care, reflecting the highest types of human relations that bind the members of the Syrian society among each other.

Um Muhammed who comes from the Al-Bab area in Aleppo countryside to take care of her child who was subjected to two skull fractures as a result of the earthquake, and is lying in Aleppo University Hospital. While their father lies in front of them injured, motionless, so that she feels responsible towards them and sympathizes with them, being a mother, and knows the feeling of the child in the absence of his mother.

“The little 5-year-old child, who suffers from autism, is very attached to me as if I were his mother, and therefore I exchange the same feelings for him in terms of attention, care, hygiene, feeding and tenderness.” Um Mohammad said, adding  “I take care of the older child as well, although he is often unconscious.”

She pointed out that the two children found in her the love, kindness, and tenderness, which had disappeared since the night of the earthquake with their mother who did not know anything about her health condition because of her residence in another hospital, to show them all the love and sympathy in return, stressing that this “fear” embodies the Syrian’s yearning towards his Syrian brother, and reflects the values, the morals on which the Syrians were brought up, such as solidarity, extending a helping hand to the needy people , and providing relief to the distressed.

In Lattakia, the highest human meanings and family ties were embodied through the adoption of the Abu Mustafa family, displaced from Idlib countryside, of child Amir, the nephew of Abu Mustafa’s wife, who died in the earthquake following the collapse of the building in which she lived, which led to the death of the mother, father, and older brother Ibrahim and while the family didn’t survive, except Amir and his 16-year-old brother Adel.

During SANA’s reporter visit to Abu Mustafa’s house in the southern Raml area in Lattakia, he revealed that Adel’s family had died completely, and only Adel, who had an alternating leg fracture, and Amir- four and a half years old- have survived.

“The family made this decision because Amir is very accustomed to them, and out of a sense of responsibility and human duty towards him,” Abu Mustafa said, stressing that Amir has become a member of his family, and will not abandon him, whatever the circumstances, and will devote most of his time to caring for him and educating him.

In turn, Um Mustafa indicated that the adoption of Amir embodies the continuation of the family of her only sister, and reflects the moral values that bind the children of Syrian society from the family, stressing that she will not differentiate between him and her children, as she derives from him patience and strength and will try to compensate him for the pain he experienced as a result of losing his family.

Um Mustafa added that she constantly takes Amir with her to check on his brother Adel’s health condition, as he was in the hospital, and waits for him to recover completely, so that they can reunite with each other in the future.

To talk about the psychological effects resulting from the child losing one or both of his parents and how to help him overcome them, psychologist Nisreen Abbas said that the child deals with the feelings of loss that we deal with all its cruelty and pain, but he does not have the ability or the necessary skills to deal with them like adults, as he needs help to teach him healthy ways to express his pain, deal with it, and recover from it in a healthy way.

She advised Abbas to encourage the child to recognize, name and express his feelings by telling him that it is normal to feel sad, angry, confused or lonely, and to provide him with an outlet and other means of expression such as drawing and making a scrapbook of his memories with the deceased person, browsing his photographs or telling stories about him. .

She also called for talking with the child about the issue after death by confirming that the person went to a better place, and that the dead person remains alive in the hearts of his loved ones, indicating also the need to deal with the feelings of guilt and anxiety of the child by conveying the necessary idea to him that he is not guilty or responsible for what happened.

In addition, we must assure him that continuing life naturally is not a betrayal of the memory of the deceased or disloyalty to him, and giving him what he needs of love and safety, while assuring that there is someone who will take care of him, and upon failure to use the previous methods, he must resort to psychological treatment with a doctor.

The report of the Higher Committee for Relief in Syria indicated that the number of affected families registered as a result of the earthquake reached 91,794 families, with a number of 414,304 individuals, while the number of buildings that were unsafe for return and unsupportable reached 4,444, which needed to be fortified to make it safe to return to 29,751, and the safe ones that needed maintenance is 30113 buildings.

Sukaina Mohammed/  Translated by: Mazen Eyoun