IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – Mousa is surprised that some people from the government-held areas have adopted children, who are orphaned, in the areas held by the Syrian opposition after the Feb.6 massive earthquake.
At dawn on Feb. 6, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit northwestern Syria and southern Turkey, killing more than 50.000 individuals and injuring much more. The earthquake also caused immense destruction of buildings, trapping thousands under the rubble.
Mousa al-Suwaid, a pseudonym for an administrator in an orphan care center in the city of Sarmada in Idlib Governorate, explained the measures taken in adopting children after the earthquake, saying, “Previously, the security restrictions for receiving or caring for a child in the center and the process of adopting the child were strict and subject to constant supervision and monitoring. It also required sponsorship from several people to the adopting party.”
Children in Syria suffer from a complex humanitarian crisis deepened by 12 years of war. They face bad economic crisis, continued conflicts, mass displacement, food insecurity, high levels of school dropouts, recruitment, to end up with the earthquake and its repercussions.
However, what concerns al-Suwaid is what is happening today after the earthquake. More than 11 children, both male and female, lost their parents in the earthquake. They were adopted by some donors inside Syria, even without their names being listed with the concerned authorities.
He believes that the recent adoption cases took place amid unstable security situation after the earthquake with the absence of an entity which monitors, counts or follows up on the affairs of the adopted children or their fate with the adopter.
He pointed out that the method for obtaining these numbers is through communication and coordination with other orphan centers located in the region, in addition to the development office responsible for this issue.
In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Syria and Turkey, various civil society organizations raised concern that children who had been separated from their parents could fall prey to gangs, abusers or organ mafias.
On Feb. 14, the UN expressed concern that more than seven million children are harmed by the earthquake in both countries.
In addition, the UNICEF warned that thousands, if not millions, of children in Syria and Turkey are at risk of hypothermia and respiratory infections after the earthquake.
According to different sources in areas held by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front) and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA), more than 27 children between the ages of one to seven years have been counted, and they are still missing in light of the security chaos in the region.
The Civil Defense team of the Syrian opposition pulled out a two-year-old girl who lost her family from under the rubble in the town of Salqin, west of Idlib, and put her in the ambulance.
Fearing cold and hunger, Muhannad al-Yafi, a pseudonym for one of the town’s residents, volunteered to adopt the child, naming her Khuloud, and registered his name and personal data with the Civil Defense in case someone asked about the child.
For 22 days, the girl has been staying with the al-Yafi family, and “no one has visited us to ask or inquire about her.” This means that “dozens of children may be victims of fake adoption cases, especially young girls, with the presence of gangs, abusers or organ mafias.”
Widad Hafsarjani, a pseudonym for an employee in a child care center in Idlib, said, “We are trying, through our teams in Idlib and its countryside, as well as, in the SNA-held areas to track down any violation or monitor cases of children who lost their families in the earthquake and are still unknown.”
“However, the local authorities permanently prevent this under the pretext that they are the decision-makers,” she told North Press.
The team monitored more than 27 children who were reported by their families as missing, despite the completion of rescue work and removal of rubble, Hafsarjani noted.