I used to think that what we had passed during the war in terms of loss, killing, poverty and displacement was no longer conquered, but in this situation, I felt stronger, maybe because I became a mother and my fear was that I will lose my children.
Qamar, a civil activist from the city of Kafr Takharim and a member of the Syrian Peace Building Club, told us about the story of her cousin and the difficulties she faced in order to keep her and her family alive during the earthquake that struck northern Syria.
Fatima (Nickname) a mother of two children, and pregnant with her third child, woke up with her family, terrified to a terrifying sound of shaking without knowing what was happening, and to the sound of people screaming, saying “Allahu Akbar” and supplication everywhere; They did not dare to leave their room, and it was only seconds before the building collapsed on all of them.
I stayed 12 years afraid from this moment, like we are waiting for it. We were always afraid of the planes bombing and the house sighing over our heads, and it happened what we expected, but this time it was not by planes.
At first, Fatima, who was pregnant with her third child, did not understand what happened, as if she had lost focus.
Her vision and hearing were blurred., moments later she could hear voices from outside shouting at her and calling her name. Then she noticed the voice of her husband and their two children calling for her as well. She gathered her strength and responded to the voices coming from Outside "I am here and Abdullah and the children are here..." These was the voices of Abdullah's relatives and his cousin who told us what happened.
When Fatima recognized the cries of her husband and their two children. She was optimism as she reassured herself and said:
“Thanks God, the children and Abdullah are alive.”
With renewed strength, Fatima began removing the rubble that separated her from her children. It was a miraculous strength that carried the harshness of the many years that Fatima lived through during the war years. Fatima continued remove the rubble over her body, and began digging and removing stones to reach her children, who hearing them and her husband's voice.
Her hands turned to be as a sharp machine to dig with and carry heavy weights, she did not feel pain even for a moment, her main focus was on how she would reach her children and husband.
And with help of Abdullah's relatives, Fatima succeeds to free herself and her children and get them out from under the rubble.
They miraculously survive, and she realizes that her husband still Stuck, calling her name in desperation. The Civil Defense Forces arrived after what seemed like an eternity, but their attempts to rescue Abdullah was useless. After two painful hours, he succumbed to his fate and lost his life to leave his family like thousands of parents who were killed during the war in Syria and whose families were left fighting the life alone.
Fatima's grief was overwhelming. Her grief not only in losing of her husband and the father of her children, who together overcame the most difficult circumstances during the long years of war. The pain and fear must surround Fatima's heart when she starts thinking of the enormous challenges and hardships that a single mother faces in our societies, especially since her husband was the main breadwinner.
Qamar talks about the condition of her cousin Fatima and her children, and confirms that it is just a reminder of what the Syrian men and women in northern Syria were subjected to in the earthquake, which affected all of them in this region. No recognition between (Sunny, Durzi, Arabic, Kurdi) All differences fell, just remembering what we were exposed is encourages us to look at our differences from different views that make the peace instead of conflict.
In fact, the earthquake gave us a message to look beyond our differences and find common ground in common struggles for peace, where stories like Fatima's story become certificate to victory the human spirit against adversity.
The Fatima's story, her resilience and tragedy as a reminder of the hardship’s Syrian men and women, where the earthquake in northern Syria added another layer of suffering to the traumatized population.
Hand in hand, let us forge a way forward, working for a world where mothers do not fear losing their children and where peace prevails over conflict.
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