Turkish ‘miracle baby’, who survived 128 hours under rubble, finally reunited with mother 54 days after earthquake | Abroad

The 3.5-month-old girl was rescued more than four days after the earthquake from under the rubble of her home in Kahramanmaraş, in Turkey’s Hatay province. The baby survived all this time without food and water, and it was long assumed that her parents had died in the earthquake.

After her rescue, the girl was taken to a hospital in Adana, where the nurses called her ‘Gizem’, Turkish for ‘mystery’. Despite the many hours under the rubble, Vetin, as the girl is actually called, was in reasonable health. Therefore, she was transferred by the Turkish authorities to Ankara, where she was cared for along with other children who had been separated from their parents by the earthquake.

What was not clear at the time was that Yasemin Begdaş, the mother of ‘Gizem’, had also been rescued from under the rubble. She was also taken to the hospital of Adana, but the woman was in much worse condition. In an effort to reunite as many children as possible with their families, the Turkish Ministry of Social Affairs contacted the woman asking for a DNA sample. It turned out to be a match with Gizem.

54 days after the earthquake, mother and daughter were finally reunited at Adana Hospital, where the mother is still recovering. The Turkish Minister of Family and Social Services, Derya Yanık, personally handed the girl over to her mother. “Reuniting a mother and her child is one of the most valuable jobs in the world,” said the minister. As soon as Yasemin has recovered sufficiently, custody of her daughter will be transferred back to her. “But Gizem is now also our baby,” said the minister, who promised that her services will always be there for the girl.

Unfortunately, Gizem’s father and two brothers died in the devastating earthquake in Syria and Turkey, which killed more than 50,000 people. Tens of thousands of others were injured, and many families were separated. Turkish authorities are trying to reunite as many family members as possible using DNA tests.

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