Old Maid's Puzzle

 

The twin earthquakes near the Turkey/Syria border in February 2023 were listed as 7.5 and 7.8. They were responsible for over 55,000 deaths. Rescuers searched for days through the collapsed buildings for victims. Among those rescued was a six-week-old infant girl who’d survived alone beneath the rubble 128 hours. It was assumed any family she had was killed in the earthquake. She was called “Gizem,” a Turkish word meaning “mystery.” She was taken to a hospital in southern Adana, then transferred to a larger facility in Ankara associated with Turkey’s Ministry of Family and Social Services. Meanwhile, a woman undergoing treatment for injuries sustained during the earthquakes kept asking if her baby had been found. Healthcare workers performed DNA testing on all the babies who’d been saved, and a match was finally found. After 54 days, nearly four-month-old Gizem – whose real name is Vetin Begdas – was reunited with her mother, Yasemin Begdas.