Two years ago, on 6 February 2023, Firas’s* home in Aleppo, Syria, collapsed when a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake shook the region, levelling buildings, destroying infrastructure and costing lives. A few hours later, a second quake of 7.7 magnitude compounded the disaster.
Firas’s family were among the thousands of people who no longer had a place to live. Years of conflict and disasters in the country had left buildings weakened and poverty widespread, damaging the resilience of both members of society and the structures they lived in.
To protect his wife and five children, Firas set about looking for shelter and work wherever he could find them.
Blow after blow
For a time, the family lived squashed together in a single room in a relative's house, but even there, financial struggles led to their eviction. It was a double blow for Firas – the practical difficulty and distress of losing a physical shelter for his family alongside the deeply painful psychological battle he fought with himself and his confidence. To be a worthy man in Syria is to provide for one’s family, and here was Firas, devoted to them but unable to place a roof over his children’s heads.
Feeling utterly desperate, Firas moved his family to a different part of the country in search of some stability, but his parents urged him to return to be near them. Trying to be a good son, he returned to Aleppo, but soon Firas’s family was left, once more, with nowhere to live.
Refuge in a place of ruins
They finally found refuge in his brother-in-law's home – a building in dire need of cladding and repairs. Exposed to the elements and vulnerable to insects and reptiles, their living conditions were appalling. They had to cover the doors and windows with transparent tape and tarpaulins to keep out the weather and the wildlife. After a while these temporary solutions deteriorated and were no longer usable.
The weight of these hardships took a toll on Firas and his family. ‘I felt helpless and extremely exhausted,’ he tells us.
Then things got even worse.
Illness, loss and despair
Firas’s son, Rafiq, developed severe anaemia and vitamin deficiencies which resulted in kidney failure. Despite their best efforts to save him, young Rafiq tragically passed away. The loss of their child plunged Firas and his wife into what he describes as deep depression and a nervous breakdown.
Soon after this, their youngest child also began suffering from a chronic blood protein deficiency which means he can’t eat solid food and has to survive solely on liquids. Any attempt to eat solid foods causes painful swelling in his stomach. Firas and his wife frequently have to take their son to hospital.
