Earthquake in Turkey and Syria, Giacomo from Aleppo: “Never experienced such a tragedy”

“We know who to blame for the bombs, not for this tragedy”. This is the phrase most often repeated by the men and women welcomed by the Franciscan convent ad Aleppo, Syria, since a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey and devastated large parts of Syria overnight between Sunday and Monday. There it is James Pizziwhich together with the Pro Terra Sancta organization has been assisting the Syrian population since 2012, when the conflict was devastating the country.

Beyond 9,600 victims and 45,000 injured, 648 aftershocks. When the earth started shaking, like everyone else, Giacomo was in bed. “I’ve never had anything like this happen to me. The shock lasted more than two minutes but for the strength and the perceived seemed an infinity. I had time to turn on the light, find the switch, put on my shoes, take my cell phone and jacket before going out, then I obviously ran into the street. The moment I arrived in the street, the bell tower of the convent where I am staying at the moment was collapsing». Fear, cold, freezing: a disarming sensation that Giacomo had never experienced before. “And the amazement of seeing immediately a few moments later a flood of people gather in front of the convent”.

We write to each other via whatsapp while Giacomo and his colleagues arrive in Aleppo to the East to assess the damage received to their reception facilities. At least five thousand families have turned to the Franciscan convent in Aleppo. “Many are crying, today they are starting to elaborate on the situation, some are learning of the death of friends or people close to them, others are wondering how it is possible that an already tormented land like this is hit so hard, once again”.

Hour after hour the news reveals the immensity of the tragedy that has struck Syria and Turkey. We continue to dig under the rubble with the hope that all is not really lost. “We learned this morning that at least three of the orphaned children we assist have died under the rubble» continues James. “They were born under war and died like this, never having seen peace.”

As in a diabolical rewind, Giacomo tells how today, in a few minutes, the devastation they were trying to fight after the conflict is found before their eyes. Rubble, death, devastation. It’s all to be done again, again. “Many of the homes of the people we assist have been destroyed, there are still walls that dance, internal walls that split in half and a lot of terror especially in the eyes of the children who are slowly smiling again”.

At least ten provinces in southern Turkey are affected. «Twelve years of conflict in Syria have left families in the abyss. Due to the collapsed economy, they were already struggling to feed their children, keep them warm this winter and send them to school,” explains Okke Bouwman, Media Director of Save the Children Syria. “Now the children risk being trapped under the rubble, separated from their families and not knowing if they will have a warm place to sleep. These children need our immediate support – the international community must step up to help them now.”

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