A year after Syria’s deadly earthquake, orphaned children adjust to the loss bit by bit

Aya al-Sudani, a bubbly toddler with a toothy smile, will mark her first birthday on Tuesday, but there will be no celebration with cake and presents. On Feb. 6, 2023, a massive earthquake hit Syria and Turkey and the baby girl was pulled alive from the rubble of her family’s house in the town of Jinderis in northern Syria. The girl was named “Baby Aya” — Aya is Arabic for “a sign from God" — by hospital workers but nicknamed Afraa in memory of her mother by the relatives who are now her guardians.