When war broke out in Ukraine, Aydin Sisman's relatives there fled to the ancient city of Antakya, in a southeastern corner of Turkiye that borders Syria.
They were staying with Sisman's Ukrainian mother-in-law when their building collapsed last Monday as a 7.8 magnitude earthquake leveled much of Antakya and ravaged the region in what some in Turkiye are calling the disaster of the century.
For them, the earthquake was just the latest tragedy -- one that many are still too shocked to comprehend. "Not a single Syrian family has not lost a relative, a dear one" in this earthquake, said Ahmad Abu Shaar, who ran a shelter for Syrian refugees in Antakya that is now a pile of rubble. Construction workers sifting through the debris told Sisman that although the top of the building was solid, the garage and foundations were not as strong.
"There are four. We took two out and two are still for hours. We hear their voices and they are reacting. We need squads," he said. Other relatives were not so lucky. Two nieces and their families remain under the debris, he said, holding back tears.Scenes of despair and mourning can be found across the region that only a few days earlier was a peaceful refuge for those fleeing war and conflict.
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