A baby girl that was discovered under the rubble in Jinderis, Syria, was adopted by her uncle.
The baby was born right as the earthquake began and was still attached to her mother via the umbilical cord when she was found, CBS News reported. The baby’s uncle, Khalil al-Sawadi, immediately went to work helping the baby, using a razor to cut the umbilical cord from the mother.
They rushed her to multiple hospitals, but were told they were too full to offer any assistance. Finally, they found a children’s hospital that was able to provide care for the wounded baby. The baby will be joining her uncle’s family, along with his wife and six children. Officials originally named the baby Aya, which means “a sign from God” in Arabic. The uncle renamed her Afraa, after her biological mother, the outlet reported.
“She is one of my children now. I will not differentiate between her and my children,” al-Sawadi said. “She will be dearer than my children because she will keep the memory alive of her father, mother and siblings. … I will raise her in a way that she will not feel in need for anything.”
This baby was found orphaned underneath the earthquake rubble of her family’s home in Syria – still attached to her deceased mother. Now after days in the hospital, she’s been adopted by the uncle who helped save her life. https://t.co/khasjcR5Z9 pic.twitter.com/aproe25hdY
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 22, 2023
The baby’s entire family, including both parents, four siblings, and an aunt were killed. When rescuers searched the building she was in, they weren’t expecting a baby to be found alive. They were searching to identify the bodies of the family when they heard her cry, the outlet noted. (RELATED: Dr. Oz Travels To Turkey For Disaster Relief After Massive Earthquake)
After CBS News posted the story on TikTok scores of people offered to adopt the orphaned baby.
Hani Marouf was the pediatrition who took care of the baby at the children’s hospital. “She had bumps, bruises, she was cold and barely breathing,” Marouf told the BBC. “Had the girl been left for an hour more, she would have died,” CBS News reported.
Parts of Syria and Turkey were hit by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake Feb. 6 killing tens of thousands of people.