Afraa had been found under the rubble of a building still attached by the umbilical cord to her mother who died in the earthquake in northern Syria. She now lives with her aunt and uncle in a makeshift camp.
Her story has moved and captivated the world. During the earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria on February 6, more than 50,000 people lost their lives, including Afraa’s family. The little girl was found under the rubble still attached by the umbilical cord to her dead mother.
This Friday, Afraa celebrates 40 days, traditionally a time of celebration for the baby and the mother in Syria, as reported by the Al Jazeera channel who met the little girl in her new home.
It was her paternal aunt Hala, her husband Khalil Sawadi, and their six children, the youngest of whom was born two days after her, who took in Afraa.
“I ran to the hospital”
When the first quake, of magnitude 7.8, hits the building of Afraa’s family, located in Jandairis in northern Syria, collapses. Shortly later, Khalil Sawadi, who lives in a neighboring house, goes to the scene of the tragedy and begins to search among the rubble.
He hears noises and realizes they are coming from a baby. When he manages to extricate the newborn, Khalil Sawadi has to hold him while someone runs to get a knife to cut the umbilical cord that still connected Afraa to his mother.
“At that time I knew the rest of the family was dead, so I took the baby and ran to Jandaris Military Hospital to try and save him,” the man says at Al Jazeera.
“We will take care of her like our own children”
The child was then transported to a hospital in Afrin, where he remained with a doctor while he received treatment and the family could recover him. “She broke three ribs and had dust in her lungs because she was born under the rubble,” Hala told Al Jazeera.
“We regularly take her to the hospital for follow-up, but she is generally fine.
This family’s home was also badly damaged during the earthquakes. She now lives in a nearby camp, in a large makeshift tent. “I’m breastfeeding both girls…I would never have given up on Afraa. She’s my niece, my own blood. A lot of people wanted to adopt her, but we didn’t want to. We’ll take care of her like our own children,” says Hala.
“I loved my cousin, everyone loved him, and I will take care of his daughter as if it were mine,” agrees her husband.
