Some of the survivors of the major earthquake in the city of Latakia, western Syria, tell stories of their pain and suffering after being stuck for long periods under the rubble of their homes.
Despite the disaster, the survivors talk about the dreams that remain in their lives, in order to delve into the future, without despair creeping into their souls.
At Tishreen Hospital in Lattakia, Sky News Arabia spoke to people who survived the earthquake that hit the country and southern Turkey on February 6.
“I don’t think about anything,” says Mayas, a young woman who survived the earthquake.
Mayas is in a much better condition, compared to the rest of her family, who are lying next to her in the hospital, unable to speak, due to the severe injuries they suffered in the midst of the disaster.
Mayas’s brother appeared to be lying on the bed in the hospital, while the mother was groaning and her tongue was uttering words that did not express anything but moaning.
Mayas’s aunt talks about the injured mother, saying, “She has been like this since the earthquake struck. She wakes up and falls asleep while calling for her daughter. And the last word from her is: Mama, forgive me, for I love you.”
In the same vein, the cousin says, “Our only concern now is to find a house for them to shelter them. When they leave the hospital, they are destitute and have nothing. We are looking, and the rent is one million pounds, and we cannot pay this amount.”
In the opposite room, the little girl Suad lies; She is the only survivor of a family that included four children, but she is still in shock and does not speak.
When Sky News Arabia asked Suad about the first thing she would like to do when she leaves the hospital, she replied, “I want to get out of here so that I can visit the graves of my mother, father and brothers.”
As for the little child Adam, one of the paramedics tells about the circumstances of his rescue, saying that it was a neighbor who brought him to the ambulance, “There was no member of his family to take care of the matter.”
The neighbor noticed the presence of the child, Adam, among the rubble, and then rushed to provide assistance, and the child had already survived, while the disaster did not slow down his brother, who died like many in the midst of the disaster.
