New Delhi: Abdel-Karim Abu Jalhoum, who had fled war and poverty in the Palestinian territory of Gaza twelve years back, was killed in the massive earthquake that devastated parts of Turkiye and Syria earlier this week.
According to a report by news agency Reuters, Jalhoum, his wife Fatima, and their four children, were among the 70 Palestinians who died in the Turkiye earthquake.
“My brother went to Turkiye to seek a better life away from wars and blockades here in Gaza,” Abu Jalhoum’s brother, Ramzy, told Reuters. “We lost the family. An entire family was wiped off the civil registration record,” he added.
According to the report, Abu Jalhoum uased to work as a taxi driver in Gaza but struggled to support a growing family. He left in 2010 for Turkiye, where he worked in a wood factory in Antakya, and Fatima and their children joined him once he was established.
Six months ago, Abu Jalhoum, his wife and their children Noura, 16, Bara, 11, Kenzi, 9 and Mohammad, their 3-year-old, had moved to a new apartment, their relatives said.
In the hours after the massive earthquake, the extended family desperately tried to make contact them, calling everyone who could offer any information. Later on Tuesday, they recognised the family in a photo showing them buried under the rubble, lifeless, Reuters reported.
At the family house in Beit Lahiya, Abu Jalhoum’s mother, Wedad, prayed their bodies could be returned home for burial. “I haven’t seen my son, nor his children for 12 years. I want my children, I want to see them and bid them farewell,” Wedad said.
It is to be noted that there are no exact figures as to how many Palestinians live in Turkiye. But many, especially from Gaza, have in recent years, moved to Turkiye, who fled a densely populated territory that has witnessed frequent wars that have left the economy in ruins.
According to the United Nations relief agency UNRWA estimate, around 438,000 Palestinian refugees live in Syria currently.