According to official figures, more than 47,000 people died in the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria. An almost unimaginable number, but after the quake on the morning of February 6, hopeful stories also became known: In Turkey, for example, a 13-year-old boy was rescued alive from the rubble after almost ten days. A baby was born in the rubble in Syria. The cellphone video of her rescue went viral on social media. Read more about the dramatic rescue of the girl here with Stern Plus.
Most of the girl's close relatives - including her parents and four siblings - apparently died in the quake. The baby, on the other hand, survived and has been considered a "miracle baby" ever since. An uncle and an aunt have now taken in the little one and even adopted her, reports the US news agency AP. "She's one of my children now," her uncle explained. "I will not distinguish between her and my children."
The uncle and aunt gave the girl the name Afraa - after her deceased mother. After her rescue, she was initially given the name "Aya" in the media, which means "miracle" in Arabic. The girl spent the first days of her life in the hospital and was released on Saturday.
It is said to have taken more than ten hours until they were rescued. "If the child had been under the rubble for just an hour longer, it would certainly have died too. When it arrived, it was severely hypothermic and had almost no vital signs of life," says Khaled Atiyh, the clinic director, the star. His wife had even breastfed the baby.
The case of the rescued infant had received a lot of media attention. Thousands of people signed up to adopt the child – but the clinic rejected all requests with reference to the relatives. In Syria, the situation after the 7.6 magnitude earthquake is still dramatic. According to Welthungerhilfe, too little aid is arriving in the affected region in north-west Syria. There is a lack of water, medicine, food and tents. The federal government has already pledged immediate help and support for reconstruction. "Our sympathy is not limited to words and it will not diminish even if the catastrophe and its consequences are pushed out of the news by other headlines," said Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
The Stern Foundation supports selected aid organizations with your donation. Our stern editors make sure on site that your money is getting to the people in need. Here you can donate to the earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria.
Sources: AP / BBC / "stern" / DPA
