Turkish Children Learn to Deal with Deadly Quake
2023-02-17
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1The 7.8-magnitude earthquake and aftershocks that struck Turkey and Syria last week killed more than 40,000 people.
2They also injured at least 100,000 others.
3Millions now need humanitarian aid after being left homeless and without basic life needs.
4Busra Civelek is a teacher in Turkey.
5She looks after 22 children on a passenger boat in the port of Iskenderun.
6The ship has been turned into a temporary classroom, shelter and health center.
7Civelek said the children have been learning to deal with what happened.
8Civelek explained that the children play 'earthquake' with building blocks.
9"They talk about the earthquake. They build blocks and say... 'is this okay for earthquakes?' and 'is it stable?'," Civelek said.
10They also play with toy fire engines. "They say... 'We have to go to the earthquake (area) quickly'," she added.
11Hasibe Ebru is a psychiatrist who is working on the passenger boat.
12She said survivors on the boat are crying a lot and are having trouble sleeping.
13"I am telling (the quake survivors) that what they have been experiencing is normal and these symptoms will gradually decrease in a safe environment," she said.
14"This really calms them down," she added.
15The long-term mental health effects can only be understood with time as people deal with trauma in different ways, Ebru said.
16Some of the earthquake survivors were rescued from the rubble only to learn that family members had died or are missing.
17Others found the busy neighborhoods they called home had been totally flattened.
18Late Wednesday, two women were rescued from the rubble in Turkey's southern city of Kahramanmaras.
19And in the city of Antakya, a mother and two children were rescued.
20Aleyna Olmez is a 17-year-old girl who was rescued from a collapsed building in Kahramanmaras on Thursday - 10 days after the quake.
21She told reporters from her hospital bed that she was well. She said she tried to pass the time by distracting herself until her rescue.
22"I had nothing with me," she said.
23I'm Ashley Thompson.
1The 7.8-magnitude earthquake and aftershocks that struck Turkey and Syria last week killed more than 40,000 people. They also injured at least 100,000 others. 2Millions now need humanitarian aid after being left homeless and without basic life needs. 3Busra Civelek is a teacher in Turkey. She looks after 22 children on a passenger boat in the port of Iskenderun. The ship has been turned into a temporary classroom, shelter and health center. 4Civelek said the children have been learning to deal with what happened. Civelek explained that the children play 'earthquake' with building blocks. 5"They talk about the earthquake. They build blocks and say... 'is this okay for earthquakes?' and 'is it stable?'," Civelek said. They also play with toy fire engines. "They say... 'We have to go to the earthquake (area) quickly'," she added. 6Hasibe Ebru is a psychiatrist who is working on the passenger boat. She said survivors on the boat are crying a lot and are having trouble sleeping. 7"I am telling (the quake survivors) that what they have been experiencing is normal and these symptoms will gradually decrease in a safe environment," she said. 8"This really calms them down," she added. 9The long-term mental health effects can only be understood with time as people deal with trauma in different ways, Ebru said. 10Some of the earthquake survivors were rescued from the rubble only to learn that family members had died or are missing. Others found the busy neighborhoods they called home had been totally flattened. 11Late Wednesday, two women were rescued from the rubble in Turkey's southern city of Kahramanmaras. And in the city of Antakya, a mother and two children were rescued. 12Aleyna Olmez is a 17-year-old girl who was rescued from a collapsed building in Kahramanmaras on Thursday - 10 days after the quake. She told reporters from her hospital bed that she was well. She said she tried to pass the time by distracting herself until her rescue. 13"I had nothing with me," she said. 14I'm Ashley Thompson. 15Hai Do adapted this story for Learning English based on reporting from Reuters and The Associated Press. 16_______________________________________________________________________ 17Words in This Story 18magnitude - n. the number that shows the power of an earthquake 19stable - adj. not easily moved or collapsed 20psychiatrist - n. a medical doctor that deals with mental or emotional disorders 21symptom - n. a change in the body or mind 22gradually - adv. happening in a slow way 23trauma - n. a very difficult or unpleasant experience 24rubble - n. broken pieces of stone, brick, ... from a collapsed building 25distract - v. take attention away from something