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KATHMANDU, Feb 11: The tragic stories and pictures following the devastating earthquakes in Turkey that killed more than 15,000 people in the country are being watched by millions of people around the world sitting in their rooms. One out of these millions is the 'miracle boy' of Nepal, Sonis Awal, who was rescued from the ruins after 22 hours in the 2015 earthquake.
"Sonis has been watching pictures and videos of the earthquakes in Turkey on his father's mobile phone through Facebook," Rashmila Awal, Sonis' mother, said, "He looked at the picture of the newborn still tied to its mother with the umbilical cord rescued with great interest." The newborn baby whose house collapsed in the earthquake was rescued on Tuesday. The newborn was rescued from the rubble of a collapsed house.
It is assumed that her mother died in the earthquake after giving birth to the baby. Along with the baby's mother, her father and four siblings also died in the earthquake. Rashmila, who does not read newspapers much, said that she saw videos and photos of the Turkish earthquakes on Facebook. “The images of the Turkish earthquake shook my heart from the inside,” Rashmila said, “Because we ourselves are victims of a similar incident.”
Although the Turkish earthquake became a matter of fear, surprise and curiosity for many, for Rashmila it became a reason to ‘scratch old wounds.' In other words, this earthquake and the sight of the child rescued from the buried situation took her back to the incident of 25 April, 2015, when her five-month-old son was buried in a house destroyed by the earthquake.
Rasmila Awal of Muldhoka in Bhaktapur had left her five-month-old son Sonis and 10-year-old daughter Sonia at home. Suddenly there was an earthquake.
Curious concerns
Rasmila panicked and proceeded to reach the house, but before she reached her house, it had turned into ruins. Along with her two, sister-in-law’s two children were also buried there. She pleaded for help. After trying for about two hours, her daughter Sonia was rescued safely.
Her sister-in-law’s two daughters, aged 17 and 15, were found dead. Until then, five month old Sonis had not been found. At the same time, she begged for help from the Nepali army unit that came to rescue her.
The army tried tirelessly till 11:00 PM but Sonis could not be found. Rasmila stayed all night looking at the wreckage. Thank God, after 22 hours of continuous efforts, a miracle happened in the world - Sonis was found at 10:00 AM, that too safely. “When I wrapped my baby in my arms, it was the happiest moment of my life,” she added, wiping away tears of joy, “I spent the next several nights looking at Sonis.”
At the moment, she sees the face of her own son in that girl from Turkey. Her statement of how sad the scene makes her confirms how great maternal affection is. "After the rescue of Sonis, we were there, so we hugged her," she said. But her maternal affection reveals another concern, because the news that the child lost her parents due to the earthquake has broken her heart.
Even the face of the little girl who lost her mother at birth is enough to make her cry. Because “who else understands as much as my chest how dear a mother's hug is to a frightened child?,” A great mother also prays to God, that child would have been embraced by any mother.
A story of sisters
The story of the sisters of the Turkish earthquake has become 'viral'. The video of the rescue of two children after 36 hours of being buried in the rubble of the house destroyed by the earthquake in northern Syria has attracted the attention of people around the world. With the release of the video of elder sister Mariam putting her arm on her brother's head and protecting him from the debris, the heart of Sonis Awal and his sister Sonia has been touched, and why not? After all, their story is the same.
At that time Sonis was five months old and she was nine years old. When she was sitting on the top floor of the house to see her brother, there was a sudden earthquake. "At first I ran out," she said, "I remembered my brother and went upstairs again." She told the story of how she fell upside down and her brother was thrown from her hand. “Even though I was hanging upside down, I was worried about my brother,” she added, “Even when I was rescued after two hours, I could not be happy because my brother had not been found.”
She said that she remembered the moment she experienced when she saw the picture of Mariam, who was barely able to move in the ruins of the house, but was able to use her hands to protect her brother Ilaaf's face and head. "I could not even hear the voice of my missing brother," she says, "That moment was more terrifying than the darkness.”
The pain of not being able to find her brother bothered her more than the pain she experienced at that time. "Now my brother has become my dear friend," says the sister who is an example of the unique love of sister and brother, "Now I will never leave him." She has thoughts and worries like her mother. That's why she says, “If Mariam and her brother vowed not to be separated for the rest of their lives like I did, how wonderful would that be.”
Ray of hope
Despite the number of people who died in the earthquake, the number of people who have been rescued is more satisfying. “In the 2015 earthquake, more than 9,000 people died, and in the darkness of grief, the five-month-old child Sonis shone as a beacon of hope,” said Krishna Manandhar of Muldhoka, Sonis’ neighbor, “Now the picture of the rescued children in the Turkish earthquake has raised the same hope.” It is clear that the accident is not only the fear of the loss, but also an opportunity to communicate hope.
In Turkey, there is increasing criticism that the government has been slow in the relief and rescue work. Such criticism is not unusual due to the widespread expectations of the government during times of grief. Rashmi of Bhaktapur is not separated from these ‘generals’. That is why she believes that bygones are bygones, but the sooner the rescue is done, the less likely the survivors will die. ‘Who knows, there could be many Sonis and Sonia begging for help from the ruins?' From the point of view of the actual sufferer, this cannot be thought of otherwise.
