The remarkable recovery of Syria's earthquake baby

When Afraa was recovered successful the rubble of a collapsed gathering successful Syria, her umbilical cord was inactive attached to her mother, who had died conscionable aft giving birth. The video of the baby's rescue from the earthquake successful February captivated the world. Since past she has made a singular recovery.

Today, Afraa is six months aged - a emblematic happy, steadfast baby.

"She's precise inactive young but she reminds maine of her dada and her sister Nawara, particularly her smile. They passed distant successful the earthquake too," says her uncle, Khalil al-Sawadi, rocking the smiling babe miss successful her swing. "They would often walk clip astatine ours. She doesn't springiness america a hard clip astatine all."

On 6 February, a devastating earthquake ripped done south-eastern Turkey and bluish Syria, sidesplitting much than 44,000 people. Just aft the devastating quake deed Jindayris, Afraa's parent went into labour and gave commencement nether the rubble of her home. She died earlier rescuers recovered them. Baby Afraa was the lone subordinate of her contiguous household to past - her father, Abu Rudaina, and her 4 siblings died, on with her mother.

"We saw that Abu Rudaina's location had collapsed," says Khalil. "My woman started screaming: 'My brother, my brother'."

Khalil recalls vividly the infinitesimal helium pulled Afraa from nether the rubble: "The extortion had fallen implicit them. Someone called maine and said they recovered a woman's body. As soon arsenic I arrived, I started digging, past I heard a voice. It was babe Afraa inactive attached to her mother. We were determined to prevention her, we knew she would beryllium the lone representation near of her family."

A melodramatic video of the rescue was shared connected societal media and went viral. The babe was taken to infirmary and was initially fixed the sanction Aya, which means occurrence successful Arabic.

The doc looking aft her said she had bumps and bruises and was hardly breathing. Six months on, those injuries are nary longer visible.

"Immediately aft the earthquake she had immoderate thorax problems due to the fact that of the particulate from the rubble, but present her wellness is great," says Khalil. "I took her to the doc to cheque up connected her and present her wellness is 100%."

But the past six months person been tough. When Afraa was successful hospital, thousands of radical astir the satellite offered to follow her, truthful Khalil and his woman Hala had to beryllium they truly were related earlier they were allowed to instrumentality attraction of her. "I felt that they didn't privation to manus Afraa to us," helium says.

Hala had to bash a DNA trial and waited "almost 10 days" to perceive back.

There had been truthful overmuch involvement successful Afraa's communicative that Khalil and his household disquieted arsenic they waited for the DNA results, that idiosyncratic mightiness effort to kidnap her. They spent arsenic overmuch clip arsenic they could astatine the infirmary and took other precautions. "Both the civilian and subject constabulary helped america support her," helium says. "There were tons of them. They stayed successful the country adjacent to Afraa and watched implicit her time and night."

Eventually, the DNA results confirmed Hala was a humor comparative - the sister of Afraa's begetter - and the small miss was discharged from hospital.

One of the archetypal things Khalil and Hala did was to springiness her a caller name: Afraa, aft her mother.

"She is 1 of my children now," says Khalil. "I can't walk excessively overmuch clip distant from her.

"When she grows up, I volition archer her what happened and amusement her the pictures of her mother, begetter and her siblings. We buried them the adjacent time successful a adjacent colony called Hajj Iskandar, wherever the Civil Defence had dug wide graves."

Hala had been large astatine the aforesaid clip arsenic Afraa's mum and 3 days aft Afraa was born, Hala besides gave commencement to a babe girl. They called her Ataa aft different auntie who died successful the earthquake.

But their location successful Jindayris was truthful severely damaged that they couldn't unrecorded determination immoderate more. "It has large cracks and is not safe," says Khalil. "I mislaid my location and my car, it was similar going backmost to quadrate one. I can't adjacent spend to nonstop my kids to school."

They lived successful a structure successful a campy for 2 months wherever beingness was "extremely difficult, it was precise blistery and we had 2 babies to instrumentality attraction of".

The household yet managed to find a location to rent wherever they present live, but they are acrophobic they won't beryllium capable to enactment for long. "It is precise costly and I don't cognize if we volition beryllium capable to support it overmuch longer arsenic the proprietor needs it," says Khalil.

People person offered to assistance them determination to the UAE oregon the UK but helium has turned them down. "Honestly, I was inactive disquieted [if I spell abroad] they mightiness instrumentality Afraa distant from us."

He reminds america that "there are radical surviving nether worse conditions successful Jindayris".

His hometown was 1 of the worst-hit by the earthquake and thousands of different families recovered themselves successful a akin predicament.

In all, much than 50,000 radical died successful Syria and Turkey - astatine slightest 4,500 successful north-west Syria, wherever an estimated 50,000 families were besides displaced, according to the UN.

Delivering assistance to the 4 cardinal radical surviving successful this rebel-held country of Syria is highly difficult, wherever astir of the residents person already been displaced by the country's 12-year war.

Photos: Mohamed Kfarnabel