Syrian quake survivors shelter in crumbling Aleppo homes

Aleppo suffered great losses in the February 6 quake that flattened 54 of its buildings and damaged historic sites. (AFP)
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  • Aleppo, once a major commercial hub, had already been battered by over a decade of war when the 7.8-magnitude quake struck in early February
  • Aleppo accounts for nearly a third of all deaths in government-held parts of Syria, according to state media

ALEPPO, Syria: Sitting by a bed strewn with rubble in Syria鈥檚 second biggest city, Umm Mounir refuses to leave her home even though the deadly earthquake has torn a gaping hole into the room.
Aleppo, once a major commercial hub, had already been battered by over a decade of war when the 7.8-magnitude quake struck in early February, killing more than 45,000 people across Turkiye and Syria and flattening entire neighborhoods.
The building adjacent to Umm Mounir鈥檚 collapsed, ripping the rear facade off her own home, but she said that neither natural disasters nor conflict can make her leave.
鈥淣othing will make me move out of my house except death,鈥� said the 55-year-old, who lives by herself on the fourth floor of the heavily damaged seven-story building.
鈥淚 will only leave for the grave.鈥�
Her city suffered great losses in the February 6 quake that flattened 54 of its buildings and damaged historic sites.
With at least 432 fatalities, Aleppo accounts for nearly a third of all deaths in government-held parts of Syria, according to state media.
Officials and medics across the war-ravaged country, including in rebel-controlled areas, put the overall Syrian death toll at more than 3,600 people.
The city witnessed brutal battles between rebels based in eastern Aleppo and Russian-backed regime forces from 2012 to 2016.
After a suffocating siege on rebel-held areas and a crushing offensive involving barrel bombs, rockets and shells, the army declared in December 2016 that it was in full control of the city.
鈥淲e are people of glory and wealth, but the war changed everything,鈥� said Umm Mounir, glancing at the wreckage of her wooden furniture.
鈥淓ven in the harshest years of the war we were not displaced,鈥� added the woman, whose home in the Masharika neighborhood was near the frontline. 鈥淲e will not be displaced now.鈥�
More than 30 people died in Masharika after the pre-dawn quake brought down two building over sleeping residents.
Seemingly incessant aftershocks spooked traumatized survivors, and a 6.4-magnitude tremor on Monday rocked the same areas of Turkiye and Syria.
When the new quake hit, Umm Mounir grabbed her 85-year-old neighbor Amina Raslan, who lives on the first floor, and they rushed out.
鈥淪he can鈥檛 run, so I held her hand and we walked as fast as we could,鈥� Umm Mounir said.
Raslan鈥檚 son, who lives with his mother, said they 鈥済ot used to the danger because our home used to be on the frontline鈥� where rockets and missiles had rained down.
Puffing a cigarette, 55-year-old Ali Al-Bash said he wished they could leave their damaged home, but that 鈥渨e have nowhere else to go.鈥�
Raslan鈥檚 eyes welled with tears as she recalled the destruction of the home she said her family had lived in for 50 years.
鈥淓verything collapsed,鈥� she said as her grandchildren were playing around her.
The family, like many others, did not want to move to a shelter but could not afford to rent a new home, Raslan said.
鈥淚 lost two of my children during the war. I don鈥檛 want to leave my house... I don鈥檛 want to lose anything else.鈥�
Some Aleppo residents, however, have left ravaged homes for tents.
Mohammed Jawish, 63, now lives in a makeshift camp with dozens of families after his building partially collapsed.
鈥淚f I still had a house I wouldn鈥檛 be here,鈥� he said, watching his grandchildren 鈥� some of them barefoot in the winter cold 鈥� play with a worn-out football.
Jawish said the quake cost him his belongings and sent him 鈥渂ack to square one.鈥�
鈥淢y chest feels tight when I鈥檓 in this small tent,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 feel I could die from sorrow.鈥�