Aftershocks of Memory: Adel's Struggle

When the earthquake struck in Syria and Turkey in the early morning in February 2023, Adel, 15 years old, was asleep. 

"Suddenly, I felt the shaking ground and woke up in fear," he said of how the walls around him collapsed, with debris raining down on him. 

His father pushed a bed against a wall and put Adel and his six siblings under it to shield them from the falling debris--his mother was in hospital, so didn't have to endure that terror with her family. "I watched in fear as objects rained down," Adel said. 

When the shaking stopped, it started to rain. "We were all cold and freezing. That's when I started to feel a sharp pain in my leg," he said of the moment he realized his foot was broken due to the falling debris. 

Today Adel and his family live in former school with about 45 other families displaced by the earthquake, which resulted in over 116,668 injuries and more than 51,000 deaths. Families in the affected regions still struggle to acquire basic necessities such as electricity, water, and adequate shelter. 

The family shares a single room in the old school--a noisy and overcrowded place. But they are grateful for support from Humanitarian Coalition member Plan International Canada, which is providing them and others with hygiene and cleaning kits that include things like hand sanitizers, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, deodorants, and menstrual pads.  

Of his life now, Adel said he still struggles with the trauma of the earthquake. A trauma caused by seeing debris fall on a neighbour, killing him, and hearing the man's children cry out for their dead "papa." He also saw other dead bodies as he escaped the destruction all around him that night. 

"Growing up during war and poverty, I had become used to hardships," he said. "But the earthquake shattered my world, stealing everything I held dear. I could only save my beloved teddy bear. Everything I was used to and loved changed suddenly." 

Added to his challenges is that his broken foot didn't heal correctly. And yet, he said he is "grateful to God that I can walk again, though with difficulty." 

What Adel would like is a bicycle and some new clothes. "My needs are like dreams, they may not come true," he said, noting the bike would be especially helpful since walking is hard and the shelter is "far from everything, and transportation is very expensive."  

Six months after the earthquake, Adel said he is still struggling with the memories. "Even now, I struggle to adapt," he said. "I pray that God gives me the strength to overcome it, but the memories of that earthquake remain attached deep within my being."