The earthquake disaster in Turkey and Syria is the talk of the day in group 8 of primary school Hubertus in Tilburg. Three children in the class have relatives in the disaster area. Rabia: “They no longer have a home. They sleep in the car, really bad.”
Their teacher, Martijn Holsappel, often thinks about it in class: “Many children have the TV on all day during the day, with all the images that are constantly broadcast on Turkish and Syrian channels,” he says.
Holsappel has a news page open on his digiboard about the relief effort for the disaster area. “I want to talk to you about the numbers. Because they are going up considerably”, he points to the air. “There are more and more victims being pulled out from under the rubble, who unfortunately did not survive.”
“I tell you how it is, including victims.”
Holsappel does not shy away from harsh reality for his students. “If you are in group eight, you can be informed about the situation,” he says. “If we are going to tell an adapted story, children will make it their own. So I tell the story, including victims.”
As ‘Mister Martijn’, Holsappel is a familiar face on social media. Nearly a hundred thousand Tiktokkers follow his usually cheerful videos. But last week it was serious for once. Three students in the class shared what their families had experienced. And at the end, Mr. Martijn, together with his students, made an appeal to donate to Giro 555.
While their classmates do math, Yagmur (13), Ersan (12) and Rabia (11) sit apart in class. “My grandmother fled just in time to another area,” says Yagmur. “The apartment was shaking a lot. They were scared.”
“They felt the apartment shake.”
Ersan also has family in the disaster area. “They woke up at night and felt the apartment shake. They are now safe in the village where my grandfather and grandmother live.”
Their loved ones got away relatively well. But Rabia’s family has been hit hard. Their house has collapsed and they are now living in their car. “And they have a baby who is only a few months old.”
The children try to help where they can. “I sent money with my parents,” says Yagmur. Ersan: “I think it’s good that they help. But aid must also be given to Syria, because there is also war there in addition to the earthquake.”
“You can all just see the blood.”
The images of the disaster cut into it. Rabia is a little bad, she says softly. The gruesome images come on TV and they are on her retina: “You can just see all the blood. That a baby’s hand has been cut off.” Her dark eyes are sad.
Holsappel tries to ensure that school is also a distraction: “We don’t get stuck in this all day. Of course I check how everyone is doing. And everything that needs to be told can be thrown on the table. But then we just get on with our lives.”