Stories
June 28, 2024 • 5 min read
“After the earthquake, we knew we had to start all over again because we had lost everything.”
Surviving Repeated Displacement
“When aftershocks damaged the room where we sought shelter following the February 2023 earthquakes, we did not dare to rent a place again. Because every time we buy amenities for a new house, we end up having to leave them behind. This happened to us three times in the last nine years,” says Um Abdul Rahman, * a 60-year-old mother of two from the city of Jisr Al-Shughur in Northwest Syria’s Idleb. “We are tired, we are broken,” she adds, her voice trembling.
Life Before the Earthquakes
Um Abdul Rahman and her family were displaced to a village in Idlib’s countryside in 2014 after their home was destroyed in an air raid. “I can’t deny that life in our house in Jisr Al-Shughur was humble. But it was our own house. We left behind our beautiful memories as well as our belongings when we had to flee,” explains Um Abdul Rahman, adding, “not to mention my husband losing his job and my children being deprived of school and their friends.”
After being displaced to the village of Athar, Um Abdul Rahman’s family managed to rent a house with the help of their neighbours. However, they struggled to find work as they tried to settle into their new and uprooted lives.
After months of searching, Um Abdul Rahman’s 65-year-old husband and two teenage sons finally found informal jobs in agriculture, earning just enough to put food on the table. With support from relatives and friends, the children returned to school, did well in their classes, and got into the Teacher’s Institute.
Impact of the Türkiye-Syria Earthquakes
However, the Türkiye-Syria earthquakes of February 2023 brought another wave of upheaval. After they had worked hard to rebuild in Athar Village, the devastating quakes destroyed their rented home.
The remains of Um Rahman’s family’s house in Athar Village destroyed in the earthquakes of February 2023.
“We were suddenly faced with the fact that we had lost our home again. We found ourselves out in the rain, with hundreds of people searching through the dark of the night. Barefoot and terrified,” remembers Um Abdul Rahman.
Um Abdul Rahman’s family spent the week of the earthquakes seeking refuge, yet again, wherever they could—moving between neighbours’ houses that had survived the tremors or endured lesser damage. Eventually, they moved into a tent that offered little protection from the elements.
“We lived in a state of fear and panic in those days. Even worse than what we had experienced during the nights of ceaseless bombing in Jisr Al-Shughur City,” Um Abdul Rahman shares.
Um Abdul Rahman was relieved when her family was offered a room in the local mosque after moving between neighbours’ homes in the two weeks following the earthquake.
However, when a large aftershock soon destroyed the mosque’s housing, the family found themselves on the street again with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
The hardship was relentless.
Finding Relief in GOAL’s Emergency Response and Partnership with Better Shelter
“In that most difficult period, GOAL’s emergency response work for earthquake-affected people was the only thing that gave us some reassurance that we could get back on our feet and helped us resist despair,” continues Um Abdul Rahman.
“With GOAL’s cash assistance, we were able to pay back our debt, purchase mattresses and blankets, and stock some rice and oil,” she adds.
Um Abdul Rahman’s family was also included in GOAL’s Relief Housing Units programme. This programme was initiated following the February 2023 earthquakes to provide reliable temporary accommodation to families who were left homeless in Türkiye and Northwest Syria, thanks to support from Better Shelter, a non-profit organisation committed to increasing the safety and dignity of forcibly displaced persons.
Um Rahman in front of her family’s Relief Housing Unit.
“Despite my sadness and the pain I felt after the earthquakes, I could not hide my joy when I learned that our name was among those in the village who would receive a Relief Housing Unit,” says Um Abdul Rahman. She adds: “This assistance relieved us from the embarrassment of staying in other people’s homes, giving us a safe roof over our heads after losing all our household items three times over.”
“GOAL’s engineers explained how to install the Relief Housing Units. They cooperated with the families, supervising the installation process,” continues Um Abdul Rahman.
One of the Relief Housing Units GOAL provided in Athar Village, Idleb, Syria, thanks to support from Better Shelter.
Renewed Hope and Future Plans
Having access to reliable shelter gave Um Abdul Rahman’s family a renewed sense of hope, allowing them to start planning for the future again.
Um Rahman and her son Ahmad (21), taking a break from work at their family’s Relief Housing Unit.
“For us, the biggest disaster of all after the earthquake was the fact that Abdul Rahman, the older of our two sons, could not take his qualifying exams at the Teacher’s Institute. This was a dream that we thought was lost after the earthquakes, as we had to use all of our savings to meet urgent expenses and had no funds left for the tuition fees.
“After we found some stability, Ahmad, our younger son, began taking up day jobs together with his father to help his elder brother complete his studies. He has worked hard, sacrificing his own educational attainment so that Abdul Rahman could succeed. After graduating, it was Abdul Rahman’s turn to support Ahmad’s training.
“Today, we’re happy that both our sons have their teaching qualifications and can hope for better days ahead,” Um Abdul Rahman concludes.
* The names of the people featured in this story were changed in order to protect their identities.
