BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A Syrian family in Buffalo holds on to hope as they see from afar the aftermath of the magnitude 7.8 earthquake many in their home country are facing.
Families like the Awad’s came to Buffalo in 2016 amid the Syrian Civil War.
Taimaa Awad tells 7 News reporter Yoselin Person her father and others are in the region that was hit by the earthquake.
“They're not under rubble but they’re living in the streets for three days,” she says.
Taimaa says her father has been diagnosed with severe anxiety and depression. He even suffered from a stroke because of the war.
She is hoping her father can take it easy as he and others are facing the disasters of the earthquake.
Taimaa says just Thursday she heard from her father and others for the first time since it happened.
“No food, no jackets, no resources, no heat with this awful cold weather, but at least we heard they’re okay,” she explains.
Awad says that this earthquake adds more suffering to her home country since they've been facing war for the past ten years.
The Biden Administration is committing $85 million in aid to Turkey and Syria, but Awad feels more help is going to Turkey than in her home country.
“The US blocked other countries to send aid to Syria. They’re only letting other countries send aid to Turkey,” she says. “But some countries broke the law and went to Syria to send them some food.”
Clinical Professor Othman Shibly at the University at Buffalo is joining the efforts to help in Syria.
“Which we go to the camps for the refugees and treat women and children in these camps and a protocol that arrests diseases,” he says. “And prevent further oral diseases and we also do infectious control by removing the infected teeth.”
Dr. Shibly tells me he's leaving tomorrow to help with the humanitarian response and is taking $50,000 worth of medical supplies to help treat people who were impacted by the earthquake and the civil war.
Meantime Awad hopes more attention is put on her home country so that many especially children can be rescued from the rubble.
“If you don’t want to help humans just help the kids,” she expresses. “They’re just angels because they didn’t do anything. The much we can do is spreading this and letting people know what’s happening.”
