Can you feel the World ending?

After the first month mark of the earthquake we met with Elanur and her mother (whose house was completely destroyed) at UNICEF supported Child Friendly Space. “She must have felt it. On the eve of the earthquake she prepared a bed for her on the floor. As if she knew. Normally she sleeps in her bed and loves it, she never had a problem of sleep as some other kids do. If she would have not prepared that bed for her, she would not be alive today” says Elanur’s mother. Elanur is 5 years old and on the 5th of February, out of blue, she did not want to sleep on her bed which has been broken into pieces once the 7.7 earthquake hit Türkiye and Elanur’s big wardrobe that destroyed her bed. Elanur’s mother, with her swollen eyes from crying, continues: “This reminds all of us that actually we do not own anything in this world, we all are temporary visitors. Rich or poor it does not matter, look now, everyone’s house is gone. Isn’t it funny, during COVID we were not able to go out, and now, just after it, we cannot go in”.

The two earthquakes that struck south-east Türkiye and northern Syria in the early hours of 6 February 2023 were the most powerful the region has experienced in almost 100 years. In Türkiye, the 7.7 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes affected 11 provinces with a population of 13.5 million Turkish citizens and 1.7 million registered refugees, including 5.4 million children – 811,000 of whom are refugees.

 “Imagine sleeping in your bed, getting ready the night before to go to school. You wake up the next morning and everybody's screaming. It's dark. And the world is really different than it was before. I met one woman who had four children and she told me that morning, four A.M., the world that she knew, it ended” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell visiting the Kahramanmaraş Temporary Education Center while little Elanur was joining the psychosocial support activity at the Child Friendly Space.

“Elanur was so scared at the beginning. She even did not want to go out. Right after the earthquake we came here (Kahramanmaraş Temporary Accommodation Center) and she kept asking two questions: ‘When are we going home? Are my friends dead?” She is aware of everything. Yet, she was the one who were soothing me right after the earthquake when I was shocked and crying. She was hugging me real tight while whispering ‘It ended mom, it ended’. Children feel everything. I am sure she will recover this but she will always remember” says Elanur’s mother.

UNICEF is on the ground to support children like Elanur and has so far reached nearly 391,000 people—including over 222,000 children—with lifesaving supplies, including hygiene kits, winter clothes, electrical heaters and blankets. UNICEF, through its partners, has also reached over 131,000 individuals with psychological first aid and recreation activities in affected areas and other cities. UNICEF is also working to ensure that children are able to return to learning as soon as possible. The organization is assessing damage to schools and making preparations for immediate repairs and the establishment of temporary learning spaces.

UNICEF creates safe and learning spaces to give a sense of normalcy to the children. The one in Kahramanmaraş Temporary Accommodation Center is one of them. Play can be a powerful tool for enabling children to regain a sense of normalcy, order and hope during crises.

The Republic of Türkiye and its partners provide psychosocial support to thousands of children affected by the earthquakes. “Now after a week time here in the center we stay, Elanur asks me the time to understand whether it is the activity time at the Child Friendly Space. This makes me happy since she did not want to leave the doorstep originally. She spends good time there and she comes back happy”.

Elanur and her family are now a temporary visitor at the Kahramanmaraş Temporary Accommodation Center. Elanur’s mother tells us what she is repeating to Elanur every single day: “Everything will be better, we will do better and build a new life together. With a new house, we will go back”.

They will. But in order to do so they need our support.

Give Elanur and millions of other children a chance to build a life back.