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After Maraş-centered powerful earthquake, a grave mental health toll looms

"I keep thinking another disaster will strike at that time and just wait for it to pass," said Gül, 28, who managed to run out of her family house with her mother moments before the walls of her house collapsed during the tremors. After reaching the street barefoot, Gül saw the dead bodies of neighbours killed by falling concrete. She remembers the screams of people trapped in collapsed buildings.

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At a large camp for displaced people next to Hatay Stadium on the outskirts of Antakya, psychosocial support teams have set up small play areas and pitched tents filled with toys. Children sat on multicolored chairs in front of a large portable screen that played cartoons. Some children played hopscotch. Mehmet Sarı, a government psychosocial support worker, said he and others in his team have picked up signs of trauma in kids. "We see that some children can't sleep, others can't eat, others have flashbacks and wet their beds," he told Reuters. They need long-term support to recover from trauma, he said.