A site chosen by the people affected by the earthquake of last February 6 in a neighborhood of Latakia to be a place to pitch their tents (Al Jazeera)

Damascus -

“I still wake up at night terrified by the sound of an earthquake. I rush to the children’s room immediately, but after I look at things and see them firmly in place, I realize that what I felt was just an illusion,” says Fatima, 42 years old, a survivor. From the devastating earthquake that struck areas in northern Syria and southern Turkey on February 6th.

Fatima added, in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, "I suffered from dizziness for 4 months after the accident. Every time I lay down to sleep, I felt a strong dizziness similar to what I experienced on the night of the disaster. I became insomnia and did not sleep until dawn. I heard the call to prayer, so I felt calm and fell asleep."

The psychological effects that Fatima is still dealing with even a year after the devastating earthquake occurred. The forty-year-old woman, who arrived with her two sons (Noha, 14 years old, and Qais, 11 years old) to the Damascus countryside from Latakia, faces a number of other challenges, the most difficult of which is managing the family’s livelihood after the death of her husband last year.

On the first anniversary of the earthquake, the catastrophic effects it left behind are still casting a shadow over thousands of Syrian families in regime-controlled areas, especially with the largest number of those whose homes were completely destroyed, or whose homes are no longer habitable due to cracks and fissures in their structure, remaining without compensation. About their loss.

Piles of rubble left by the earthquake of February 6, 2023 in the city of Jableh (Al Jazeera)

Alternative housing

Although Latakia Governorate announced, in the first months following the earthquake, that it had identified 7 sites for the construction of prefabricated housing units to shelter those affected, the stage of preparing the infrastructure for the majority of these housing units has not yet been completed, and even with its completion, the capacity of these housing units is not sufficient for the number of residents. Those affected in the governorate (about 142 thousand affected people).

The alternative housing that the governorate seeks to provide to those affected is distributed among 350 housing units in the first Al-Gharraf area, 133 in the second Al-Gharraf area, 123 in the city of Jableh, and 205 in the Damsarkho area and other devastated areas.

In addition to the suffering of those affected in Latakia and Jableh from the absence of solutions to the problem of alternative housing, they are also suffering from a significant increase in the rent of residential apartments since the earthquake occurred as a result of “the high demand for apartments in the governorate, the decline in the value of the Syrian pound, and the high cost of living,” according to what was stated. Basil - a construction contractor in Latakia - told Al Jazeera Net.

Hajj Mustafa Al-Ladhaqani (a pseudonym for someone affected by the earthquake) says, “Last February, the apartment rent was 250,000 liras ($17), but today it has reached 800,000 liras ($55).”

He added, in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, "The owners of the white hands paid the rent for the apartment for six months after the incident, but 6 months ago I became the one paying the rent, which rises every two months."

Al-Ladaqani explained, “I rent a furnished apartment because I am unable to buy furniture and electrical equipment, and even though I registered for pre-fabricated housing units here in Al-Gharraf, the few houses ready for living were handed over to other families,” and I did not get anything.

Favoritism shatters the dream

Ismail, one of those whose homes were destroyed by the earthquake in Latakia, complains of the government's slowness in implementing residential tower projects in the city for the purpose of compensating those affected for their homes. He also complains of "nepotism and brokerage" that dominate the distribution of local housing units.

Ismail said, in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, “If the situation continues like this in the Citizen Service Center, I will not get the apartment before 10 years have passed. I registered for an apartment in the center immediately after the announcement, but no one contacted me. As for the apartments that are about to be ready, registration must be done.” He relies on favoritism. One of them registered for one even though his house was not destroyed.”

Ismail concludes his speech by saying, "I used to dream of a lot, but today my dream has become to own a house where I and my family can live under its roof as we did before."

The Director of the General Corporation for Housing branch in Latakia Governorate, Kenan Saeed, confirmed last October that the Corporation is working on implementing a project consisting of 8 tower buildings containing 320 apartments distributed between the governorate and the city of Jableh.

These projects are still being implemented even a year after the earthquake. The number of those affected in Latakia exceeded 142,000, and the number of completely collapsed buildings reached 967, in addition to 3,833 buildings in need of reinforcement and restoration.

Site of the collapse of the "Mobily Top" building on Damsakro Highway in Latakia (Al Jazeera)

Ignoring damaged segments

The needs of those affected by the earthquake in regime-controlled areas exceed shelter or housing, and extend to everything related to life’s affairs, such as food, drink, health care, and necessary subsistence necessities.

Ramadan (42 years old), one of those who lost their homes following the earthquake in Aleppo, says that although he periodically receives food baskets from multiple sources, most notably humanitarian organizations, the rent of the apartment he rented after the earthquake, and the huge rise in commodity prices over the past year, They made his family's expenses far beyond his means.

He added, in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, "I received an amount of 3 million and 150 thousand liras ($225 according to the previous exchange rate) last October from the Syrian Red Crescent to help me as someone affected by the earthquake. I spent most of it buying some necessary items that we lost in our apartment." "The destroyed items, such as the cell phone and the lighting battery, and with the remaining amount I paid off debts that I had accumulated over the past year. I am now looking for additional work to support my family."

The living crisis in regime-controlled areas exacerbates the tragedy of those affected by the earthquake, and many of them resort to selling some of their food and health benefits that they receive from the relevant organizations to purchase more necessary needs.

A UN assessment indicated that the total damage and losses in Syria as a result of the earthquakes amounted to approximately $9 billion, and that about $15 billion is needed for recovery in the affected areas.

While the Board of Directors of the National Fund to Support Those Affected by the Earthquake, established in accordance with Legislative Decree No. 7 of 2023, reviewed in its meeting last Sunday the results and percentages of support that it provided in the first phase of its work, and the Board explained that it provided financial support of approximately 21 billion liras (about 143 thousand Dollars) to 381 affected people out of a total of 1,378 affected people from the “A” and “B” categories, which include those whose homes were completely demolished.

The Council did not pay attention to the remaining segments of those affected, whether those whose homes were cracked, whose shops were destroyed, or who lost their cars due to the earthquake.

Since 2021 (before the earthquake), about 90% of Syrians have been living below the poverty line, while half of the population suffers from food insecurity, according to UN reports.

Source: Al Jazeera