The earthquake left a gaping hole in her bedroom, but Oum Mounir persists in staying at home: this Alépine affirms that she will only leave her house to go to the cemetery.
The February 6 earthquake, which violently shook the big city in northern Syria, caused the collapse of the building adjoining that of Oum Mounir, taking with it one of the facades of his building.
But this 55-year-old widow refuses to join the cohort of Aleppo residents who have taken refuge in reception centers or with relatives.
“Nothing will get me out of my house except death. Then I’ll go straight to the cemetery,” she said calmly, pointing to her rock-covered bed, and the damaged cupboards and dressers.
His apartment is on the fourth floor of a devastated building in the Macharka district of Aleppo, already hard hit by fighting between 2012 and 2016.
“We had money, the war has changed our situation but we keep our dignity”, assures Oum Mounir, mother of two children who are abroad. “We did not flee, even at the height of the civil war” which started in 2011.
Wrapped up in a black coat because of the cold, she recognizes that the building risks collapsing in the event of further tremors.
Two strong earthquakes (6.4 and 5.8) shook the region again on Monday evening, causing panic in Aleppo.
Every time the earth shakes, Oum Mounir takes refuge in the street with her neighbour. “I am convinced that God will protect us,” she said.
More than 30 people were killed when two buildings collapsed in his neighborhood, which was on the front line before loyalist forces regained full control of Aleppo in December 2016.
The 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on February 6 killed nearly 45,000 people in both countries, including more than 3,600 in Syria.
A neighbor of Oum Mounir, Ali el-Bach has also decided to stay at home, on the first floor of the building. He too saw his room turn into a balcony, with a breathtaking view of the crater left by the collapse of the building next door.
“We have nowhere to go,” said the 55-year-old man, sitting on a stone next to the cage of his faithful canary. “Anyway, we are used to danger, during the war our building was hit by shells.”
On Monday evening, he ran with his wife, mother and children to take refuge in a nearby park, as he has done with every tremor since the devastating earthquake of February 6.
His mother Amina Raslan, 85, who lives in the same building, swallows back tears as she points to the destruction in her apartment. “Here there was a picture painted by my son, next to it there is a wardrobe and a clock (…) everything collapsed when the building fell”, says this woman who lost two sons in the war.
Surrounded by her grandchildren and her two cats, her hand trembles as she recounts, in great detail, the night of the earthquake.
“We’ve lived here for fifty years, I won’t be able to go anywhere else. I’m not used to living in someone’s house or in a reception center, and we can’t afford to rent an apartment,” says- She.
Mohammad Jawich, who lived in a 100 square meter apartment, had no choice.
Sitting in front of a white tent donated by an NGO in a square in the Boustan al-Bacha district, he watches, with tears in his eyes, his grandchildren playing with a used ball.
“I lost everything, my house, my savings, I have to start from scratch,” said the 63-year-old man, a black cap pulled down on his head. “I don’t know what to do anymore, I’m afraid of dying of grief.”
02/22/2023 17:53:35 – Aleppo (Syria) (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
