Happy ending after fifty-four days: Gizem’s story ends, a story of hope. The three-and-a-half-month-old baby was separated from her mother in the devastating earthquake on February 6 and survived 128 hours under the rubble of a collapsed building. The mother, who was declared dead in the chaos of those days, was only able to hug her daughter two months later. And all this thanks to a DNA test that allows recognition. The announcement was made by the Turkish family ministry via a video on Twitter.
54 days of longing is over.
Vetin Begdaş, who was rescued from the wreckage after 128 hours and named Gizem Bebek by our nurses, was reunited with her mother after 54 days.
Your vet is not our baby now.
As the Ministry, our support will always be with you. pic.twitter.com/66sWKR53z3
— Derya Yanik (@deryayanikashb) April 3, 2023
Little Vetin Begdaş, whose real name is this, was at home with his mother Yasemin when the earthquake struck. The building collapses and the mother and daughter are dragged to the ground under the rubble, but both survive. The first to recover, Yasemin is transferred to Adana, Turkey’s fifth most populous city, in the general turmoil. Vetin, on the other hand, will recover only after 128 hours and be transferred to the capital Ankara. The officers here will address her as Gizem, which means “mystery” in Turkish. The mother will not see her daughter again until April 1, and doctors say no one in her family survived the earthquake. As a matter of fact, Yasemin lost her husband and two more children.
But then comes the twist. They informed us that there was a survivor from Ankara and that he was left without a mother. Here, hopes flare up that there might be a Vet. However, a later DNA test will confirm this. Turkish Family Minister Derya Yanık made the announcement with a video on Twitter. In the video, it is seen that the little girl who regained her health was taken by the minister from Ankara to Adana by plane and handed over to her mother. The images hit the whole world and circulated on the internet. After the tragedy, Yasemin was finally able to hug her daughter. Described by the Minister as a “miracle”, this event can only help the mother overcome the overwhelming grief that has gripped her entire family. The minister also said, “Vetin is now our little girl and she will always have the support of the ministry.”
Gizem’s story is definitely a story with a happy ending. But in its initial development, it is similar to many other stories in which many other families are the protagonists. In the days immediately after the earthquake, the situation became extremely difficult due to the absence of technicians who could identify the victims and the injured, slowing the reunion of parents with their children. In total, the victims of the earthquake between Syria and Turkey were 50,000, while 20,000 were displaced. Then there are the thousands of orphans, parentless and sadly often nameless children.
Source: Today IT
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.
