“I will never be able to forget what happened – I can still feel the ground shaking,” Rana Bitar says, her voice clearing her throat.
The head of the charity says she lost 72 members of her extended family in the devastating earthquake that struck the country turkey And Syria last year.
“I felt terrified, afraid and anxious,” she told Sky News, appearing close to tears as she recalled that moment. 7.8 magnitude earthquake It struck the region, killing tens of thousands of people.
“At first, I didn’t know what was happening. I thought it was a war, that we were being bombed. I heard the sounds of explosions.”
At the time, Ms. Bitar was alone at home with her two-and-a-half-year-old son in Gaziantep, Turkey, near the epicenter of the earthquake.
As her apartment shook, she picked up the child and rushed down seven flights of stairs and out into “extremely cold weather” and snow. They were wearing pajamas and Mrs. Bitar was walking barefoot.
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February 2023: Drone footage shows devastation in Antakya
“It was terrible,” she says. “I was just thinking about my child, my parents and my family.
“I remembered my whole life. I called my mother in Belgium and told her: If something happens to me, I just wanted to say goodbye.”
Mrs Bitar, her husband and their son spent the next eight days in their car and at a nearby mosque.
At first, they did not know what had happened or the extent of the death and destruction caused by the earthquake.
After learning of the extent of the disaster on the news and discovering that she had lost her family, friends and colleagues, Ms Bitar says she had a nervous breakdown.
She says the 72 members of her extended family who died were related to her on her father's side. They fled together from Latakia, Syria, to Hatay, Turkey, the worst-hit province.
Houses were destroyed in Antakya, Hatay Province, Turkey. Photo: AP
She says: Entire families were wiped out, including Ms. Bitar's uncle and aunt, and their children and grandchildren. The youngest relative to die was five years old, while the oldest was 79 years old.
She says: “Losing so many loved ones and relatives was very sad and painful. I cried a lot.” “I cannot explain the fear I have felt since the day the earthquake happened.
“A few days ago I was having lunch with my husband and he started shaking his leg – I was terrified and asked him if there was another earthquake happening.”
Hidden health problems
More than a year after the earthquake struck on February 6, 2023, many survivors are reeling from the trauma of losing loved ones and suffering from hidden health problems.
The earthquake killed more than 50,000 people in Turkey and about 5,900 people in Syria, while leaving millions homeless.
Hatay Province in Türkiye was the most affected province. Photo: AP
In addition to the physical injuries sustained in the disaster, survivors suffered from psychological problems, including insomnia and eating disorders, according to Madara Hettiarachchi, program director at the Disaster Emergency Committee.
She says there has been a marked increase in psychological problems as the anniversary approaches. “The aftershocks haven't helped, and the isolation in the container camps is a double whammy,” she told Sky News.
Hettiarachchi says many survivors found themselves breaking down in tears, adding: “There was a lot of crying, a lot of feeling vulnerable.
“Some people thought they were over it. 'I thought I was strong, I thought I was coping well, but I feel really emotional and like it's taking a back seat,'” one woman said.
“Diseases are easy to spread.”
More than three million people were displaced by the earthquake, which flattened towns and caused widespread destruction in cities, leaving many who lost their homes and are living in temporary housing as they struggle to find new places to live.
The Environmental Protection Committee says about 787,000 people were still living in flimsy shelters, tents and so-called container cities in Turkey, as of December last year, where they are most at risk of respiratory diseases and seasonal influenza, as well as scabies, lice and cholera. .
A child in Antakya in Hatay, Türkiye, in January. Photo: AP
Many displaced people live in containers. Photo: Reuters
“They are small, crowded spaces and there is very limited water and sanitation, so it is easy for diseases to spread,” warns Ms. Hettiarachchi. She says relief agencies have focused on promoting hygiene and providing disaster relief such as hygiene kits, which include bath soap, laundry soap, toothbrushes and sanitary pads.
Some 15 million people in Syria were already in need of humanitarian assistance before the disaster struck, with damage to water pipes and water tanks increasing the risk of waterborne diseases such as cholera and dysentery.
Many aid workers say there has been an increase in miscarriages and premature births after the quake, while some mothers have had difficulty breastfeeding.
A camp in the rebel-controlled Syrian town of Janders. Photo: Reuters
“Earthquakes and other disasters have a profound impact on stress levels not only within communities but especially among pregnant women,” Ozlem Kudert Kokmez, a sexual and reproductive health advisor at Médecins du Monde in Turkey, told Sky News.
“Pregnancy and childbirth, which are already stressful, become more difficult when combined with factors such as degree of exposure to earthquakes, loss of relatives, family breakdown, or moving to new environments.”
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High rates of gender-based violence
Ms Kokmez says there have been increases in gender-based violence, including domestic violence and sexual assault, as well as early marriage and child labour, amid unemployment, limited access to basic needs, mental health issues and trauma.
In response to these risks, charities such as Space Of Peace – the organization Ms Bitar leads – offer safe spaces and psychosocial support to women, as well as offering them workshops to learn English and other skills to help them find jobs. Amidst the deteriorating economic situation.
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Syrian refugees – who fled to Turkey from nearly 13 years of civil war – saw the earthquake add misery to their plight. “These people have lost their homes several times,” says Ms. Bitar. “First when they went from Syria to Turkey, and then again after the earthquake. They are struggling on many levels.”
In addition to the psychological damage caused by the disaster, about 70% of the 118,000 people injured in the earthquake suffer from long-term rehabilitation problems, according to the World Health Organization. In response, charities are providing physiotherapy, wheelchairs and crutches.
President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan It pledged to supply 200,000 homes across the earthquake-affected region by the end of the year.
Ms. Hettiarachchi believes there is reason for optimism, saying: “Hearing the stories from aid workers and people who have benefited from humanitarian aid, there is some kind of relief, there is progress.”
But she adds: “It's useful to remember the scale of the matter. Any response, whether by government or humanitarian agencies, pales in comparison. It's like we're just scratching the surface.”
