A year after Syria’s deadly earthquake, orphaned children adjust to the loss bit by bit

By ABBY SEWELL and GHAITH ALSAYED
Associated Press

IDLIB, Syria (AP) — Aya al-Sudani will mark her first birthday on Tuesday. A year ago, the newborn girl was pulled alive from the rubble of her family’s house in northern Syria. She was the only surviving member of her immediate family after the devastating Feb. 6, 2023 earthquake that hit Syria and Turkey. She was one of hundreds of children orphaned or separated from their families. A year later, those children have begun to adjust to their new reality, most of them living now with extended family while smaller numbers have ended up in foster homes or orphanages. For many of them, losing their parents in the earthquake was only the latest in a string of tragedies.