Anja, 15, was injured during the earthquake that struck Turkiye and Syria in early February. He is being treated by a medical team in one of Humanity & Inclusion’s 13 partner hospitals in northwest Syria.
Anja is a 15-year-old Syrian teenager. His whole family was sleeping when the walls of his house began to shake on the morning of Feb. 6.
“I asked my father what was happening. He told me to run outside,” Anja remembers. “When I got outside, the wall around our house fell on me and broke my leg. While I was still lying on the ground, I saw the house next door collapse right before my eyes and people were screaming and shouting. It was my father who pulled me out of the rubble.”
It was dark and extremely cold. Collapsed buildings blocked roads, making Anja’s journey to the hospital take several hours.
The teenager is suffering from multiple contusions and his right leg is broken. Every day, he does rehabilitation exercises with physical therapists.
“The first day, for example, when I tried to move my leg, I couldn’t do it,” he explains. “They encouraged me and thanks to those few words, I managed to move it.”
Anja considers himself lucky and hopes to recover quickly.
“I’ve seen a lot of things, I’ve seen people maimed and others amputated. Honestly, I’m alright,” he says. “I have hope!”