Thousands have offered to adopt a newborn girl whose mother gave birth under the rubble of a five-story collapsed apartment building in Syria following Monday’s earthquake.
Baby Aya — meaning miracle in Arabic — was found buried under concrete more than 10 hours after the quake struck with her umbilical cord still connected to her deceased mother, Afraa Abu Hadiya. Her father and all four of her siblings also died after the devastating earthquake hit the northwest Syrian town of Jindayris, next to the Turkish border.
After a female neighbor cut Aya’s cord, she was rushed to a nearby children’s hospital and placed in an incubator. The physician treating the baby, Dr. Hani Maarouf at Cihan Hospital in Afrin, said Aya’s condition is improving by the day and there was no damage to her spine, as initially feared.
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Footage of a man sprinting from the collapsed debris of a building, holding Aya covered in dust, went viral on social media. Maarouf said the baby’s lowered body temperature indicated she had been born about three hours before being found.
Since Aya’s rescue, hospital manager Khalid Attiah says he’s fielded dozens of calls from people worldwide wanting to adopt baby Aya. Additionally, thousands of people are asking for adoption details on social media.
For now, Attiah’s wife, who has a daughter just four months older than her, will breastfeed Aya alongside their own child.
“I won’t allow anyone to adopt her now. Until her distant family returns, I’m treating her like one of my own,” Attiah said.
Once she is released from the hospital, Aya will be taken in by her great-uncle, Salah al-Badran, whose own house in Jenderis was destroyed. Al-Badran is now living in a tent with 11 people of his own household.
More than 21,000 people in northern Syria and southeastern Turkey were killed after Monday’s 7.8-magnitude quake, leaving untold numbers of orphans left behind. The U.N. children’s agency, UNICEF, said it has been coordinating with hospitals to track down extended family members who might be able to care for orphaned children.
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In Turkey, children whose families or relatives could not be found are being taken care of in state institutions, where staff were assessing their needs and placing them with registered foster families, the Ministry of Family and Social Services said.
Near the opposition-held Syrian town of Azaz, a non-governmental organization has set up a makeshift orphanage that is now housing about 40 children.
Contributing: Associated Press
Camille Fine is a trending visual producer on USA TODAY’s NOW team.