When two deadly earthquakes ripped across southern Turkey and northwest Syria on February 6, thousands of buildings collapsed, and tens of thousands of lives were lost.
In northwest Syria, the quake hit a region already battered by 12 years of conflict, worsening the humanitarian crisis.
Following the quakes, even those who had a permanent home have nowhere to shelter.
This weekend Nuha Abdo, chair of Syrian Sisters, is organising an Earthquake Fundraiser.
It will be a day of food, music, arts and crafts to help raise funds for Northern Syria and entry is free.
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She said: “My family have lost everything and one of my ladies lost her mother. My husband is from the north and all his family has been affected.
“There is individual help getting to people who have family in Europe but nothing can go in there.
“I’ve tried to contact organisations that are supposed to be working there and ask can you get me there but I just keep getting passed around.
“No one is helping. I get very frustrated – I say are we not human? Help is going to Turkey. It is very hard, honestly, to feel unequal.”
Today, an estimated 90 percent of the 4.6 million people in north-west Syria are reliant on humanitarian assistance.
Even before the quakes struck, more than half of health facilities had been destroyed, while the civil war in Syria has made essentials like food, medicines and fuel, unaffordable for many.
Recently, a deadly cholera outbreak infected more than 85,000 people and the country's water supply has been reduced by between 30 per cent and 40 per cent.
The conflict has also forced many families – more than half of the population – to flee their homes.
Many have been struggling to survive in makeshift camps, enduring miserable living conditions.
"People are not allowed to go in for so many reasons," said Mrs Abdo. “My friend sent me a video. There are people in tents, some have no food, no shelter.
"Some people have actually been laughing at the videos, making jokes."
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The International Committee of the Red Cross has been providing support, working in partnership with the Turkish Red Crescent Society and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent whose volunteers are the first responders but also victims themselves.
Mrs Abdo hopes the fundraiser, organised with Asylum Welcome and Multaka-Oxford, may even pay for a flight for her to go to Syria herself.
She said: “We will have music and crafts. My friend is an artist and we will have artwork to sell and there will be speeches.
"And there will be Syrian food – which is amazing - and I will give a talk, and I hope we will raise some funds for this desperate situation.”
Earthquake Fundraiser at Maison Francaise d’Oxford, Norham Road, OX2 6SE on March 18, 11am to 5pm.
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This story was written by Miranda Norris, she joined the team in 2021 and covers news across Oxfordshire as well as news from Witney.
Get in touch with her by emailing: Miranda.Norris@newsquest.co.uk. Or find her on Twitter: @Mirandajnorris
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