Name: Clowns bring laughter to children in Turkish earthquake zone
Uploaded: 2025-12-16T07:47:46.437Z
Duration: 4 min 1 s
Description: In Antakya, Turkey, artists bring laughter and creativity to children still coping with trauma from the devastating 2023 earthquakes.

In Antakya, Turkey, artists bring laughter and creativity to children still coping with trauma from the devastating 2023 earthquakes.

Antakya

In Antakya, Türkiye, artists are organizing entertainment and workshops for children living in areas devastated by the February 2023 earthquakes. These activities, including face painting, acting, and sign language, offer children rare moments of joy and new ways to express their feelings in a region still marked by trauma and loss.

Despite ongoing reconstruction efforts, many families continue to live in container camps with limited resources and frequent power and water cuts. The events provide temporary relief and help restore a sense of normalcy for both children and parents, who continue to struggle with the aftermath of the disaster.

Clowns bring laughter to children in Turkish earthquake zone

Laughing together, having fun with friends. For the children here in the Turkish city of Antakya, these are rare and special moments. A group of artists is putting on entertainment and workshops for the little ones. A welcome distraction from everyday life here in the earthquake-battered region. It's a great day. We painted our faces and watched a movie. There's a lot going on here. The children can also try their hand at acting, or even learning sign language. It's about finding new ways to express their thoughts, their feelings. At first glance, you can't tell what many of the kids have been through. In February of 2023, two powerful earthquakes devastated large parts of southern and southeastern Turkey, leaving hundreds of thousands of buildings, homes, workplaces, schools, destroyed or damaged. More than 53,000 people were killed and many more injured. The surviving kids witnessed tragedy and death firsthand. Many lost family members or friends in the rubble. Parents know how deep the trauma runs. They were really, really scared. And they still have those fears. So even now, my children can't sleep alone. Either I or their father has to be with them. If there's the smallest tremor now, the kids get scared. They call me at work and say, Dad, there's an earthquake. We can't stay home. The anxiety is still there, even after all these years. And the children are constantly surrounded by reminders of that life-shattering moment. Antakya was almost completely destroyed by the earthquakes. To rebuild everything here is expected to take many more years. Today, the city resembles a giant construction site. The Turkish government has promised to get the earthquake-hit region back on its feet and is completing new apartment buildings at a rapid pace. But tens of thousands of families continue to live in container camps, where children have limited opportunities to play and socialize. And parents worry about how they can survive another winter. There are frequent power cuts. We don't know what to do. We can't cook. The water is also constantly being cut off. And if it does come, it's muddy. I have three kids and it's difficult. They don't have enough space to do their homework because we're all crammed together in one container. And the rain gets in every day. Events like these take the children out of their strange new lives. The artists here can't help with most problems. But at least, they say, they can inspire confidence and hope. We believe that laughter is as important as shelter and food. We all need to laugh. We all need this moment of mental health, taking care of our mental health in the midst of something as traumatizing as the earthquake. For the children, it brings a sense of normalcy, free from worries or fears. And it helps the parents too, even if only for a few hours.

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