By ASAM | Project Leader
Lina came to Türkiye with her husband and three children, hoping to build a safer and more hopeful future for her children due to the long-standing insecurity caused by the civil war in Syria. While the family was trying to establish a life in Hatay, they were once again displaced after the February 6 earthquakes, when the rented house they were staying in was severely damaged during the Pazarck-centered earthquake, forcing them to relocate to a container settlement in Hatay.
For 28-year-old Lina, this new life meant not only a struggle for shelter, but also increasing difficulties in accessing health services and a growing sense of isolation from social life.
Lina contact with the Association for Social Development and Aid Mobilization (ASAM) through the activities carried out in the container settlement. She and her children had difficulty accessing healthcare services owing to language barriers and transportation challenges. Through the implemented projects, the social and health counseling provided by ASAM—together with interpretation and transportation support—helped facilitate Lina’s and her children’s access to healthcare services.
Following the health screenings conducted, Lina’s 4-year-old son was diagnosed with autism. For Lina, this diagnosis was not only a medical process, but also deepened the anxiety and sense of loneliness she had been carrying for a long time. Stating that she had withdrawn from social life due to her child’s special needs, Lina began to regularly participate in the psychosocial support (PSS) activities in the container settlement. Lina also took an active role in the Solidarity Circle Women’s Committee, established by SGDD-ASAM to strengthen women’s participation in social life and enhance solidarity networks.
Over time, the psychosocial support sessions became a safe space for Lina where she could re-engage with social life together with her son. Reflecting on the impact of this process on both herself and her child, Lina expressed it in the following words:
“I was hesitant to enter social environments with my son. Over time, I realized how safe these spaces were for both him and me. After joining the committee and the trainings, we both began to feel more at ease; now I feel that both my son and I are much safer among people.”
Lina’s story shows that healing after multilayered processes such as disasters and forced displacement is not limited to physical conditions alone. After the losses experienced, true recovery becomes possible when individuals are able to reconnect with their living spaces, their surroundings, and themselves.
(Note: The real name of the beneficiary has been changed.)
By ASAM | Project Leader
By ASAM | Project Leader
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