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Gallery|Turkey-Syria Border

Photos: Fearing aftershocks, families in NW Syria sleep in tents

Afraid their homes could collapse, families are staying in makeshift shelters in harsh winter conditions.

people have been sleeping out in open spaces since teh second quake
Children try to keep warm as they spend the night in a park in the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib. [Ali Haj Suleiman/Al Jazeera]
By Ali Haj Suleiman
Published On 23 Feb 202323 Feb 2023
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Idlib, Syria – Hundreds of Syrian families whose homes were destroyed or damaged when devastating earthquakes struck Turkey and Syria this month are sleeping in tents or in public spaces in harsh winter conditions in rebel-held northwestern Syria.

Many buildings in the region collapsed, and other infrastructure buckled in the February 6 quakes, which killed tens of thousands of people in Turkey. More than 4,500 people were killed in rebel-held Syria, according to the Syrian Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets.

Two weeks later, magnitude 6.3 and 5.8 earthquakes hit southern Turkey and were felt across the border in Syria. At least six people were killed and more than 200 were injured in Turkey while the White Helmets said more than 100 people were injured in northwestern Syria.

Fearful of more earthquakes, Syrian families in the war-torn region have resorted to sleeping in trucks, tents and open spaces despite the harsh weather.

“It’s very cold, but we have nowhere to go,” said Abdullah al-Tuwainy, a man who has been living with his family at a tent site since the earthquakes struck. “There’s no way we can return to our home. It’s destroyed.”

Pointing at a tent set up on the side of a road, Ahmed Ghafir said, “We are living on the street now. I have a 17-year-old disabled child. If another tremor struck and we were in our home, we’d all be gone by the time we carry her down the stairs of our building.”

Abdelmone’im Asaad, a father of seven, shares an open space with more than 50 other families without shelter.

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“We set up the kids in the cars, and the rest of us spend the night out on the pavements with some bedsheets,” he said. “We’re shivering from the cold.”

Although Abdul Moe’in Zahra’s home is damaged but liveable, he is afraid to return for fear of another tremor. “It’s safer to spend our nights out here,” he told Al Jazeera.

Grandmother Um Salim told Al Jazeera that the weather has been terrible. “It’s freezing cold, and the rain has been non-stop, but we don’t dare return home,” she said. “We’re just out here in the park all day.”

people have been sleeping out in open spaces since teh second quake
A Syrian family of earthquake survivors lives in a tent in a public park in northwestern Syria. [Ali Haj Suleiman/Al Jazeera]
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people have been sleeping out in open spaces since teh second quake
Um Salim and her grandchildren live in a tent in a public park. [Ali Haj Suleiman/Al Jazeera]
people have been sleeping out in open spaces since teh second quake
Hundreds of people in northwestern Syria who survived this month's earthquakes live in tents either because their homes were destroyed or they are too afraid of more tremors to return to their own beds. [Ali Haj Suleiman/Al Jazeera]
people have been sleeping out in open spaces since teh second quake
In fear of aftershocks, a family has resorted to living in a makeshift shelter. [Ali Haj Suleiman/Al Jazeera]
people have been sleeping out in open spaces since teh second quake
These Syrians' fear of more earthquakes is greater than their aversion to cold and rain, which they must withstand by living in open spaces. [Ali Haj Suleiman/Al Jazeera]
people have been sleeping out in open spaces since teh second quake
Many parents put their children to bed in cars and trucks while they sleep outdoors. [Ali Haj Suleiman/Al Jazeera]
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people have been sleeping out in open spaces since teh second quake
Some families have made shelters in small trucks in the city of Idlib. [Ali Haj Suleiman/Al Jazeera]
people have been sleeping out in open spaces since teh second quake
These children sleep next to a truck in the city of Idlib. [Ali Haj Suleiman/Al Jazeera]
people have been sleeping out in open spaces since teh second quake
A man and his daughter live in this makeshift shelter that he built after the February 6 earthquakes. [Ali Haj Suleiman/Al Jazeera]
people have been sleeping out in open spaces since teh second quake
Millions of children are in need of immediate aid in the Syrian and Turkish earthquake zones, UNICEF says. [Ali Haj Suleiman/Al Jazeera]
people have been sleeping out in open spaces since teh second quake
Abdel Moe'in Zahra's home still stands, but he and his mother now live outdoors because they consider it safer. [Ali Haj Suleiman/Al Jazeera]


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