Tukey earthquake: I would risk my life to cover my wife's aurat

REYHANLI - "I don't care if I died, it is my responsibility to cover my wife's aurat (parts of the body that must be covered in Islam) as we escaped from our residential building, which collapsed in the Feb 6 earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria.

In saying this, 32-year-old survivor Abdul Bari Yassin added that he had reentered their home on the second floor of a five-storey building in Bohsin, Antakya, which had "split into two' due to the earthquake of 7.8 magnitude on the Ritcher scale.

He said his wife was only wearing a nightgown, which exposed her aurat during the time when the earthquake hit.

"That's why I went back into the house again. I might as well die in ‘syahid’ (as martyrs) if I was going to die," he said when met by Sinar Harian at his uncle's house here.

Recalling the tragedy, Abdul Bari said he and his wife, along with their three children, ages three, five, and seven, were in the living room before the earthquake hit.

As soon as the earthquake hit, he immediately carried his two sons, while his wife took their youngest daughter.

"The tremor was so strong that I staggered as I ran and caused my son's head to hit the wall hard.

"My wife almost fell a few times, and the electricity supply was cut off then," he said, while also expressing gratitude that the whole family had survived the tragedy despite losing everything in the earthquake.

He said they were blessed to have been allowed to stay in their neighbour's car for three days.

"After that, we asked for my uncle's help since we could not stand the extreme cold weather that had reached -10 degrees Celcius at night," he said.

Meanwhile, Isa Halabi, 30, said he and his family were lucky to survive even when the stone walls and ceiling started to collapse when they were escaping.

In the pitch-dark building, he failed to open the door of his house, which was on the first floor of a five-storey building in Kirikhan, which was among the cities that recorded a high death toll.

"My wife and the children were screaming in fear, so I used all my strength to break the door while the house was shaking strongly.

"If we were a second late, I think our family of five, with children aged between two and 11, would have perished like our neighbors," he said.

Abdul Bari and Isa families were among the financial aid recipients from the #BantuanBencana Sinar Karangkraf x Syria Care Fund.

Sinar Harian, Syria Care, and Task Emergency Medical Service (TEMS) are currently in Turkey on a humanitarian mission to provide assistance to earthquake victims, including those in Syria.

Donations can be made to Sinar Karangkraf Sdn Bhd Maybank account 564276-529068 or directly through the website https://info.sinarharian.com.my/tabung-bantuanbencana-sinar-karangkraf-x-syria-care/