Sees Earthquake College As Victim Goes Hope Dublin Woman To

Dublin woman sees hope as earthquake victim goes to college — Turkish Of Ap Defence Search And Picture: Buildings Workers Harem The In Near Residents Civil Syria, February Idlib Collapsed Through The Of Province, Rubble The Border, Town 6 On

Sat, 23 Dec, 2023 - 02:00

Dermot Keyes

The victims of the ongoing Syrian war, be they dead, disfigured or displaced have been bypassed in the news cycle given the conflicts in Ukraine and neighbouring Israel/Gaza.

Almost four million of those 13m displaced Syrians remain in Turkey, where, just 10 months ago, an earthquake registering 7.8 on the Richter Scale led to at least 50,000 deaths. The forgotten natural disaster, adjacent to the forgotten war.

“That’s the number known in terms of recovered bodies,” said Waterford resident Anne O’Rorke, who founded the Team International Assistance for Integration Community Centre in the Turkish city of Izmir in 2017.

Ms O'Rorke was moved to help mothers and children who were displaced by the Syrian war, having initially travelled to the Greek island of Leros in 2016 to assist refugees who arrived there by boat.

Anne O’Rorke, centre, in the Turkish city of Izmir, where 600 lunches are served five days a week.

Currently feeding 600 people a day in Izmir, the centre extended its brief last year in response to the earthquake, establishing a clinic in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep (population: 2m), 37km from the quake’s epicentre.

“We first travelled there last April,” said Ms O'Rorke, a native of Rush in Co Dublin.

“Initially, there was no access into the most heavily impacted areas given the level of damage. And the devastation there remains unbelievable, like the worst scene from a disaster movie. And even standing in the middle of it now, it’s difficult to describe the extent of the destruction, knowing how many people have died and then seeing survivors, left with literally nothing, looking utterly lost. But I felt we had to try and do something to help there.”

Following the ‘Big Gig’ fundraising concert in Galway last February, the brainchild of singer Mary Coughlan, with whom Ms O'Rorke is regularly in contact with, the centre had the means to open a clinic in Gaziantep to treat injured children and young adults.

“Gaziantep was a centre-point from where we could access neighbouring cities and towns which had been similarly impacted by the earthquake,” said Ms O'Rorke.

“We found our clinic space quiet quickly; it had been previously used as a clinic but had been vacated due to the quake and that was our luck. We were doubly lucky when it came to our landlord and within three to four weeks, after buying equipment, we opened our doors and now have one paid physiotherapist and two volunteers, treating 32 patients. And our aim is to bring that number up to 50 and we’d hope to maintain this service for the next two years given the nature of the injuries we’re dealing with. At this stage, I’m a professional beggar and we’ll find a way to honour that commitment.”

The work thus far has represented a “steep learning curve,” according to Ms O'Rorke.

“Our physiotherapist had really only ever dealt with bomb injuries previously, which are quite different to earthquake injuries given the crush injuries which arise following quakes. But we’re making progress and helping people to find a way through the most appalling of traumas.”

Among them is 18-year-old Omar, who lay in the rubble for 64 hours following the February 6 earthquake.

“His brother was alongside him that whole time,” said Anne.

“He didn’t make it.

Members of the Syrian civil defence, known as the White Helmets transport a casualty pulled from the rubble following an earthquake in the town of Zardana in the countryside of the northwestern Syrian Idlib province in February. Picture: Getty

“Omar lost a leg. He also had major respiratory problems because of the amount of dust he had inhaled while being under the rubble. Omar’s mother brought him to us in Izmir and we began to treat him about two weeks after the quake. It took a few months to get Omar to a position where he could be fitted with a prosthesis, which cost €5,500.

“To my delight, a German woman named Anita, whose husband had spent his life in a wheelchair, had seen what we were doing on German TV and said to me: ‘Give me someone and I’ll support him’. Omar was a perfect candidate. They talk and send messages to each other regularly, and he’d spoken about his dream to go to college. Anita then went one step further, telling me she’d support him in college, which gave Omar the impetus to build his strength and get walking. A few weeks ago, he started his bioengineering course in the Gaziantep area, mainly thanks to a stranger’s kindness.”

Residents stand in front of a collapsed building following an earthquake in the town of Jandaris, in the countryside of Syria's northwestern city of Afrin on February 6. Picture: Getty

Ms O'Rorke, who feels that hope is in decreasingly short supply for millions of displaced Syrians, is looking forward to Christmas in Waterford, with by husband Tom and their three children.

“One of my worries is, given all I’ve seen, is how I’ll ever laugh again, which probably sounds very strange, but I’ve forgotten what it is to laugh. I’m surrounded by such sadness in Turkey and it’s not easily shaken off and I know a time will come when I’ll no longer be in a position to help.

"But how will I ever actually walk away from this? But knowing Omar is now following his dream means there’s still some light getting through. His progress, and the continued support we’re receiving from both home and elsewhere will keep me going for now.”