Yigit Cakmak, just 8 years old, was trapped in the rubble of his home in southern Turkey’s Hatay province, while his mother desperately pleaded for help so that rescuers could free her young son alive.
This Wednesday, after 52 hours in which the boy asked for help with his remaining strength, he managed to emerge from the walls he was trapped in and always called home, to hug his mother tightly between smiles, tears and fear . . .
Yigit is one of hundreds of miracles emerging in the midst of the tragedy, as videos and stories of babies, mothers and entire families manage to meet again after the bleak and terrifying passage of time roll across social networks.
Not all stories are happy. On the streets there are also thousands of people who have not yet found their loved ones. Some seem to have given up already, while others are digging between the cement and the iron with their bare hands.
Meanwhile, authorities already estimate the death toll at more than 12,000 and the number of injured at least 60,000, while the number of missing persons remains undetermined.
In Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan acknowledged that authorities initially had problems with the rescue efforts. “The first day there were some problems, but the second and today (yesterday) things are under control. We will start clearing the rubble and our goal is to rebuild the houses in Kahramanmaras and the other affected towns within a year,” he promised.
In addition, Erdogan announced financial aid for the victims amounting to 10,000 Turkish lira ($495/$530) per person affected.
The situation is not the same in Syria, where in places such as the village of Melkis, in the opposition areas of the northwest, several families are waiting around makeshift bonfires next to the buildings destroyed by the earthquakes, waiting for the rescue teams to find them. to their loved ones missing in the tragedy.
According to data released yesterday by the official Syrian news agency SANA, more than 293,000 people had to leave their homes, only in the areas controlled by the government of Bashar al Asad, where 180 shelters have been set up so far.
In the city of Aleppo, capital of the province of the same name and a city currently held by Damascus, Almira (not her real name) has spent every night in a vehicle since the earthquake.
“Sometimes someone says that another bigger one is on the way and that we don’t know what to do except go to the church next to our house (…) or, if it’s very busy, to another area in that people park the cars behind each other and everyone is inside,” he said.
Last night she and the rest of the occupants of her vehicle were able to feel two new aftershocks. “We haven’t slept in two days and we all have a cold, it’s very cold,” Almira complained. He confirms that in Aleppo only the churches and mosques distribute aid, and that many residents who choose to camp in their cars for fear of new landslides do so in the parking lots of the city’s schools.
On the other hand, about twenty schools remain open to welcome the residents of the city whose houses have collapsed or suffered damage that threatens the stability of the property. There are no shelters, nor the promised help.
Source: El heraldo
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
