Why Syrians feel forgotten: No tents, no aid, nothing
The border wall separating Turkey and Syria is practically touched by the tents.
The more than ten-year-old civil war in the nation may have forced those residing here on the Syrian side to flee. They might, however, have survived the earthquake. In Syria, catastrophes overlap.
Unconstrained by international boundaries, the earthquake wreaked destruction in both nations. But checkpoints have hindered the international relief effort. Thousands of rescuers with heavy lifting gear, paramedics, and sniffer dogs have clogged the streets in southern Turkey and are still searching for lives. None of this is happening in the northwest of Syria, which is controlled by the opposition.
After spending four days in the Turkish city of Antakya, where the humanitarian response is chaotic with ambulance sirens blaring all night and dozens of earth movers roaring and tearing up concrete all day, I had just crossed the border. In the Idlib province of Syria, the village of Bsania is generally silent among the olive groves.
The houses in this border region were brand-new. Over 100 of them are now gone, having transformed into aggregate and a ghostly white dust that flies across the farmland. I see a gap in the crumbling village as I ascend over its stony remains. A nicely kept bathroom with pink tiles is located within.
Two of Abu Ala’s children perished in the earthquake that buried his home.
