Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Saturday, Aug 02, 2025

"Is This A Dream?": Syrian Woman Rescues Children In "Miracle" Escape

"Is This A Dream?": Syrian Woman Rescues Children In "Miracle" Escape

The force of the quake brought their fourth-floor apartment in Syria's Mediterranean town of Jableh crashing to the ground, killing almost all of their neighbours.
When she felt the first tremors of the earthquake which hit Syria and Turkey last week, Um Kanan woke her three children and rushed them to a small closet in her bedroom for shelter, along with a collection of family photos and documents.

The force of the quake brought their fourth-floor apartment in Syria's Mediterranean town of Jableh crashing to the ground, killing almost all of their neighbours but leaving unscathed the four of them and their precious duffle bag of memories.

Um Kanan and her youngest child were tucked inside a space in the closet no more than a metre wide, while her two elder children huddled in a nook between the closet and her bed, using pillows to shield themselves when the building crumbled.

"I kept thinking to myself: 'Can it be? Did the building just fall down? Is this a dream?' I tried to move but I couldn't," she said. "The children and I, by some miracle, we ended up in this small space that I had left empty."

Her husband, a military officer, also survived. He was not at home when the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck, killing more than 5,000 people in Syria and 35,000 to the north in Turkey.

But the mother and children were still trapped in the ruins. They called out for help from rescuers, who cleared the wreckage above them.

"They removed the roof from over the closet and thankfully pulled the two kids out okay, and me and my youngest as well, and I pulled out the bag I had packed with me."

Their home was a mess of broken concrete, and their furniture and belongings were crushed underneath. So they made their way to a relative's house with their one remaining possession.

Feeling uneasy in the hours leading up to the earthquake, Um Kanan said she had prepared the bag the day before, filling it with family certificates, IDs and her marriage certificate, as well as photo albums and videos.

"We had been living in that house for some eight years and I had never thought about storing things this way before," she said, fighting back tears as she thumbed through an album of pictures and pulled out a video of her wedding.

Recalling the moment she walked from the wreckage with her bag, she said she had felt victorious.

"I was so happy that we all came out safe - and I took my memories with me."
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
×