An uncle has adopted his newborn niece who was found under the rubble of a home in northern Syria after the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake.
Baby Afraa after she spent 10 hours trapped under several layers of concrete, still attached to her mother's umbilical cord.
The baby's mother died in the disaster, along with her husband and four children.
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Eventually, rescuers managed to pull the infant from the decimated five-story apartment building before she was rushed to hospital.
Footage of the baby being rescued in the Syrian town of Jindayris has gone viral, touching the hearts of many, with Afraa being dubbed Syria’s ‘miracle baby’.
Doctors say her mother was conscious while giving birth but died soon after.
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Dr Hani Maarouf, who treated the child, told AP he believes the baby was born several hours before being found.
"Had the girl been left for an hour more, she would have died," he said.
Khalil, who is married to the sister of the baby's late father, named the girl after her late mother.
He said: "I stayed around for 10 days until I could take the child.
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"You know, there was a lot of legal paperwork we had to do so they could check that she is in fact related to me and she is ours.
"I was on edge for the whole 10 days. When we received the girl, the world could not contain my happiness."
He told reporters that one day when Afraa was old enough, he would tell her the story of her family.
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The uncle said that his wife had given birth a few days before; however, he’s spending much time caring for Afraa.
"She is now one of my children," he said.
"She is my daughter. I will not differentiate between her and my children. In fact, she will be dearer than my children because she will keep the memory alive of her father, mother and siblings.”
According to UNICEF, the massive earthquakes and powerful aftershocks in Türkiye and Syria have affected more than seven million children.
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However, the agency fears ‘thousands’ more could have died.
Earlier this month, Minister of Family and Social Services, Derya Yanik, said that almost 2,000 children had been separated from their families, as per TRT World.
Gercek News reported that over 200,000 family foster applications had been received by the Ministry of Family and Social Services following the quake.
UNICEF has also warned that children are more vulnerable than adults when developing hypothermia and respiratory infections.
“Families with children are sleeping in streets, malls, mosques, schools, under bridges, staying out in the open for fear of returning to their homes,” UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said in a statement.
“Even without verified numbers, it's tragically clear the number of children killed — the number of children orphaned is going to keep on rising.”
Topics: News, World News, Parenting
Charisa Bossinakis