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February 21, 2023:
A father from Aleppo has spoken of how his children are too scared to sleep indoors after the devastating earthquakes which hit Syria and Türkiye.
In a poignant video, the father,Mohamed Lucy said: “This is something beyond imagination. The children are frightened. When the children see the house roof, they become frightened and want to leave. And me! I’m terrified.”
Lucy said he and his children are still in shock more than 14 days after they lost their home and all their belongings in the two catastrophic earthquakes that struck Syria and Türkiye on Monday 6 February, and whose death toll has now surpassed 47,000.
Families and children are grappling with the impact of a new 6.4 earthquake that has hit the Syria-Turkey border Monday, which will slow down recovery efforts and increase anxiety and heartbreak for families who had barely recovered from the initial quakes.
In the aftermath of a disaster of this scale, looking after the social and emotional well-being of children must be a top priority, says child rights and humanitarian NGO Plan International. Efforts must now be focused on ensuring children are provided child-friendly spaces for psychosocial support to enable them cope with the devastating impacts of the earthquakes.
“We have lost everything – everything. I haven’t slept. I have trouble falling asleep each time it gets dark. We are now reluctant to be inside any house.”
“If you ask me now to live in a palace, I would definitely say no, I can’t,” Lucy, who said he hasn’t slept in the 10 days since the earthquake, added.
“Tens of thousands of children have suffered unthinkable losses and stress,” said Plan International’s Global Humanitarian Director, Dr Unni Krishnan.
The earthquakes and aftershocks hit hard on large number of people who have been living through the impact of a deadly civil war. Now they are suffering the trauma of another disaster and freezing weather conditions, and or losing or separated from their parents. “They are cold, hungry, exhausted and terrified. They now need to be kept safe at all costs, and given access to psychological first aid and mental health care.”
Activities that will help to re-establish daily routine and generate hope are critical to first-aid efforts, said Krishnan, calling hope ‘an engine that drives human dignity’.
“And hope and dignity together makes relief more meaningful for survivors,” he said.
“Children do not only need food, warm clothes, medical assistance, clean water and a safe place to stay, they also need emotional care,” he said. “It is critical to offer children an opportunity to play, re-connect with friends and access information. Safe spaces that offer recreational, social and learning activities can help bring back these routines. Providing support to parents to relieve stress and support them in daily life, will also have a positive impact on the well-being of children.
“In crisis settings, mind matters, and hope matters. The needs related to mental health are often invisible, and if you don’t look, you will never find.”
Plan International is working with its partner MECC in northern Syria to meet the immediate needs of children and families, who urgently need food, water, blankets and sleeping bags. We are also working alongside our partners to assess the needs of children, especially children who have lost their parents in the disaster, and those separated from their families.
With schools closed, providing shelter to those who have lost their homes, children are left without their usual support networks. Our experience shows that children, especially girls, women and the poorest families, are most at risk of exploitation in a disaster like an earthquake.
“Relief and recovery efforts become more meaningful when such efforts listen to the concerns and aspirations of survivors. As a humanitarian organisation, we are absolutely committed to bringing the voices of children and girls to our response efforts in Syria,” said Krishnan.
Krishnan said: “A major earthquake and repeated aftershocks shake people, impact their minds and amplify stress. Psychological needs are often invisible. Left unattended, they often leave lasting scars on young minds. It is critical to address the mental health needs of young survivors from day one onwards.
“Urgent efforts are needed to ensure that protection and psychosocial services offering hope and a sense of normality are in place for all children in the catastrophic aftermath of the earthquakes.”
ENDS
• Link to film of Mohamad Lucy and images from Aleppo, Syria, for use by media: https://mediabank.plan-international.org/?r=218117&k=11790e684c
• Plan International’s Global Humanitarian Director, Dr Unni Krishnan, and Plan International’s Regional Head of Disaster Risk Management, Maurice Onyango, are available for interviews.
For more information, or interviews please contact:
Jane Labous, Global Press Officer Plan International, Email: Jane.labous@plan-international.org, Mobile: +44 (0)7983 268397
About The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC)
MECC is a church-related organization that brings together all churches in the Middle East. It was established in 1974 and has liaison offices in Jordan, Syria, Cyprus, and Egypt in addition to its main office in Lebanon. The Ecumenical Relief Service programs under Diaconia department have been involved in responding to the needs of the homeless, refugees, IDPS, returnees, and welcoming communities since its foundation in 1974. The council has benchmarks through its humanitarian response in the region from the Palestinian cause, the civil war in Lebanon, the first golf war and Iraq crisis in 2003, the war against Lebanon in 2006 to the recent Syrian crisis that broke out in March 2011.
About Plan International
Plan International is an independent humanitarian and development organisation that promotes children's rights and equality for girls.
We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often stifled by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it is girls who are most affected. Working together with girls, boys, young people, our employees and partners, we strive for a just world by addressing the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children.
We support children's rights from birth to adulthood. And we enable children to prepare for and respond to crises and adversity. We drive change in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and expertise. We have been building powerful partnerships for children for more than 85 years and now work in more than 80 countries.