Jindires, northwest Syria – On the night of February 5th, people in northwestern Syria closed their eyes and stayed up until 4:30 a.m., unable to sleep, as the anniversary of last year's earthquake passed without another devastating earthquake. I reassured him of that.
The warning was not based on scientific warnings, but on fears that the disaster, which left thousands dead and injured and tens of thousands more still displaced, could somehow be repeated.
From northern Aleppo province to western and southern Idlib, the effects of the earthquake still remain in camps filled with cracked buildings and tents of people left homeless by war, poverty and reduced humanitarian aid.
Only debris has been removed from the road.
Jindiless, 1 year later
In the early morning hours of February 6, people began gathering at the gallery on the outskirts of Gindares, one of the worst-hit areas. Among them were many members of the White Helmets, also known as the Syrian Civil Defense Force, who have been working tirelessly to save people from the destruction caused by the earthquake.
They were there to mark the first anniversary of the earthquake with a public event and exhibition.
They told reporters about the earthquake's impact on a region where years of war had already destroyed infrastructure and a severe lack of emergency equipment was hampering emergency response.
“There was a lack of machinery and no international teams or immediate aid to help with the disaster response,” White Helmets media official Hamid Katini told Al Jazeera.
Catini added that despite deploying all available equipment, it was still not enough to cover the widespread destruction. Long delays in delivering aid to northwestern Syria have added to the hardships of an already traumatized population.
image of loss
As soon as Fatima Hammoudi entered the exhibition, her tears began to flow. A 50-year-old woman lost her son Muhammad, his wife, and daughter in the earthquake. His 5-year-old son (also Muhammad) was the only survivor.
“As soon as I heard about the earthquake, I knew I had lost my son,” said Hamoudi, who was in Turkey at the time and had spoken to his son on the phone the night before.
As soon as she heard about the earthquake, she tried to contact her family, but to no avail.
“My son was under the rubble all day,” Hammoudi said, adding that she was unable to say goodbye to him and that it took her six months to return to Syria to care for her grandson, where she currently lives. Ta.
Hammoudi toured the exhibition, staring sadly at images of the destruction.
Painter Galstan Buzo stands next to a painting depicting the White Helmets' activities and says her painting represents a feeling of gratitude.
“I tried to add hope to my paintings,” she said.
She was in the nearby city of Afrin when the earthquake struck, and has spent the last few months using her art to help those affected, teaching drawing and music to children orphaned by the disaster.
“We continue to work on starting other educational projects in the coming months,” Buzo said.
“I want to restore hope and tell survivors that it is possible to overcome disasters.”
destroyed wall mural
An artistic memorial to the events that hit the region a year ago is also being held in Maland, in western Idlib, about an hour's drive from Jindires.
But here, perhaps as a message of hope, color is splattered across the scarred walls that still remain.
“The earthquake left a huge trauma,” graffiti artist Salam Alhamed told Al Jazeera. “We still haven't forgotten what happened.”
Over the past few days, Alhamed and his fellow painters from the Brush of Hope group have visited some of the hardest-hit cities and towns in rural Idlib province.
They painted a mural depicting a disaster and the White Helmets rescuing people trapped under the rubble.
Al-Hamed said, “The paintings we drew convey the suffering and pain of people, especially those buried under the rubble, praying for their lives, but dying while waiting for help.'' '', referring to the more than 4,500 people killed in the attack. earthquake.
“Other murals explore themes of resilience, perseverance and loss.”
For people in northwestern Syria, the last rebel-held region of Syria, destruction, death and damage are familiar after 13 years of war and continued bombing by government forces and their Russian ally.
But these earthquakes were unlike any other disaster experienced in Syria's modern history, and left a shock and horror so deep that it still remains.
