met VideoThousands of people from all over the world have applied to adopt miracle baby Aya. Nevertheless, an uncle takes care of the girl. The little one was born under the rubble of the earthquake in Syria and found with the umbilical cord still attached to her deceased mother.
Foreign editors
Latest update:
20:24
Baby Aya, Arabic for ‘a sign from God’, was found buried under concrete. The rescue operation took place in Jenderes, in rural Afrin, northeastern Syria. More than ten hours after the five-story apartment building where her parents lived collapsed.
The child’s mother, Afraa Abu Hadiya, gave birth while buried in debris after the earthquake. She died hours before they were discovered, said doctor Hani Maarouf of Afrin’s Cihan Hospital. Her father and her four siblings and an aunt were also found dead under a collapsed building.
Minor injuries
Aya is currently still in the hospital as she suffered minor injuries, but she is getting a little better each day. She was hypothermic due to the cold weather conditions, among other things. There was ultimately no damage to her spine, as initially feared.
Aya is one of countless children orphaned by the earthquake
Hospital manager Khalid Attiah testifies that since Aya’s rescue, he has received dozens of calls from people around the world wanting to adopt the little girl. Thousands of people are also asking for information on social media to adopt her. However, baby Aya will be taken in by her great-uncle Salah, al-Badran, once she is released from the hospital.
Houses unlivable
The uncle managed to escape with his family from a one-story building when it collapsed. His home was completely destroyed by the earthquake. He currently lives in a tent with eleven other people from his own household. “After the earthquake, no one can live in their house or building anymore. Only 10 percent of the buildings here are safe to live in and the rest are unlivable,” he said via voice message.
Attiah’s wife, who herself gave birth to a daughter four months ago, will breastfeed Aya alongside their own child. “Until her family returns, I will treat her as one of my own children,” she says.
Aya is one of countless children orphaned by the earthquake. Entire families were killed by the earthquake that occurred before dawn, waking residents to their sleep. In most cases, relatives take in orphans, doctors and experts say. But those next of kin also have to deal with the havoc in their own lives and family. Doctors state that it is impossible to say how many children have lost their parents.
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