Devastating earthquakes impact infrastructure, displacement, and education in Syria
The unsung heroes of the earthquake response
There are many unsung heroes involved in the humanitarian response to the earthquakes that hit Syria and Turkiye on 6 February 2023. Among them are teachers, principals, healthcare workers, engineers, and so much more. It’s been over two months now since the massive tremors sent people fleeing from their homes, and damaged schools, clinics, and offices.
In Syria alone, nearly 9 million people are affected and in need of humanitarian support. Of those, 3,7 million are children. Humanitarian agencies have been on the ground, responding to the urgent and immediate needs, such as shelter, health, water and sanitation, and child protection. There are many Syrian heroes who are part of the response, providing critical aid, even while they’re impacted by the earthquakes themselves. Here’s a glimpse of their work, as well as some of the families they’re assisting.
Faiza is a health educator working with a UNICEF-supported organization in Aleppo, in the north of Syria. The 26-year-old and her team cover several shelters, where people whose homes were destroyed or damaged are being temporarily sheltered. The earthquakes hit during the Syrian winter, when bitterly cold temperatures and pouring rain are not unusual.
“I’m saddened the most to see displaced children in light clothing, despite the cold. They escaped with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Pregnant and breastfeeding women are also vulnerable under these conditions,” Faiza says. “Seeing my own baby, Wateen, in good health is what’s helping me cope after what happened and it keeps me motivated to support other children and mothers,” she added.
“Seeing my own baby, Wateen, in good health is what’s helping me cope after what happened and it keeps me motivated to support other children and mothers.”
The health needs of displaced communities are significant. Children need to be assessed to establish what their most urgent health and nutrition requirements are. Hiba leads a mobile health team in Aleppo. Immediately after the earthquakes, she left her husband and two children at home, and started supporting vulnerable children who had been affected. Her team screens children under five for malnutrition, in the Alsalheen neighbourhood, as part of UNICEF’s emergency response.
“Feeling incapable to do much is the hardest thing. I’m responsible for keeping my little ones safe and I felt equally responsible to help other children in need. To support my team, I must manage how I feel, and stay in good spirits despite everything. It’s not easy!”
Many Syrians responding to the earthquake are working under difficult circumstances. For many, their own homes have been either damaged or destroyed and some have lost family and friends. A large number of people remain unaccounted for, and the true death toll may only be known once all the rubble has been cleared. Hiba says she lost a member of her health team in the earthquake. “May her soul rest in peace. A couple of our team members have lost their homes too,” Hiba adds.
“During these past few days, when I go to sleep, I feel that I’m never sure what tomorrow will bring. Uncertainty is everywhere, but we keep going to support the people who need us.”
In the immediate aftermath of the horrific earthquakes, thousands of schools were used as shelters for displaced people. Currently around 110 schools are still being used in this way.
Maysa is the principal of Almahabbeh school in Aleppo, which before the earthquake, was attended by around one-thousand students. Today, there is no chatter and laughter filling the room. No learning can be heard. Instead, rubble covers the desks. The walls and floors are covered in cracks, and plaster and lose stones litter the space. In the ceiling above the third floor, a gaping hole lets the sunshine in.
UNICEF/UN0782289/Muhannad Al-Asadi
UNICEF/UN0782284/Muhannad Al-Asadi
“The school needs rehabilitation. The damage is huge. I wish to get the needed support so we can return to school as soon as possible. Luckily, none of the students, their families or staff were seriously hurt.”
“I rushed out of my home to the streets when the earthquake hit. Two hours after, I came to the school to check on it. I called one of my staff and we immediately informed the parents of the students not to send their children to school, and then got in touch with the Department of Education in Aleppo, to update them.”
The school is testimony to how the earthquakes have rattled education. Maysa and her family were sleeping at home when the first earthquake struck. She sustained injuries when parts of her ceiling fell onto her head.
UNICEF is providing education supplies and recreational kits for distribution to schools and shelters, covering the immediate needs of approximately 65,000 children in Aleppo, Hama and Lattakia. Debris removal, minor repairs and light rehabilitation started in 42 schools in Aleppo, Lattakia, Hama and Homs while preparations are ongoing to rehabilitate more than 388 schools.
Jameel is 11 years old. He and his family lost their home in the earthquake. “A little while after the earthquake hit, we were still sheltering from the rain under our building, so I ran up to the house to bring my mother something to cover herself with in the rain and the cold. We had gone down with nothing besides the clothes we were wearing. An aftershock happened and my mother and aunt started screaming for me to come down. I can’t tell you how quickly I ran down the stairs,” Jameel says.
“I felt the bed shaking. My husband told us to go out quickly. Our bedroom closet doors were opening and closing. I couldn’t grasp whether or not it was an earthquake. I thought there was shelling,” Jameel’s mother says. “I hope we can return home safely – we’re really exhausted. What kind of future do my children have to look forward to?” she says. The family is sheltering at a school in Aleppo, along with 50 other families. UNICEF is supporting them with lifesaving services and supplies.
UNICEF is also reaching families in collective shelters with the distribution of hygiene supplies, including family hygiene kits, baby diapers and female sanitary products.
Cousins Haneen, 5, and Alma, 3, stand together at a school-turned-shelter in Aleppo city. Haneen describes the moment her family hurriedly left their home: “We went down quickly – I didn’t tie my hair as I usually do when I leave home.”
Many of the families displaced by the earthquake fled with nothing but the clothes on their backs, not knowing then what the real extent of the earthquake damage would be.
The earthquakes hit during freezing temperatures and pouring rain. Two months after the quakes, the freezing conditions have thankfully subsided, but snaps of cold weather persist. UNICEF has been supporting the distribution of warm clothing for children.
The earthquakes’ impact on residents in Syria has been catastrophic, plunging hundreds of thousands of already vulnerable people into desperate conditions. Prior to the earthquakes, people in Syria were already struggling to cope with 12 years of sustained conflict, which has had an impact on all infrastructure and public services. The massive tremors in February exacerbated this, causing further damage to schools, healthcare, and other essential infrastructure. Access to safe water and sanitation remain a major concern, as are the health needs of the affected population.
UNICEF remains on the ground, with partners, providing lifesaving assistance to impacted children and families.
