2nd month of the earthquake: State blocking, volunteers seeking solidarity 

2023-04-06 11:38:31


	 

	URFA - As Maraş-centered earthquakes left two months behind with uncoordinated state institutions, sold Red Crescent tents and violations of rights, the wounds continue to be healed with the solidarity network of volunteers despite these negativities.

	 

	Two months have passed since the 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes in Maraş, centered in Bazarcix (Pazarcık) and Elbistan. While Maraş, Hatay, Adıyaman, Malatya, Urfa, Diyarbakır, Antep, Adana, Osmaniye, Kilis and Harput were affected by the earthquakes that took place on February 6, the earthquake was also felt in Syria, Israel, Lebanon and Egypt.

	 

	According to the latest official data, in the earthquakes that caused much greater destruction in Maraş, Hatay, Adıyaman and Malatya; 50 thousand 399 people lost their lives. According to the latest data shared by Murat Kurum, Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change; 1 million 728 thousand buildings were examined, 227 thousand 27 buildings were demolished, to be demolished immediately and heavily damaged. It is stated that there are 637 thousand 222 independent sections in these buildings, and according to the earthquake report of the Presidency of Strategy and Budget; The burden caused by the earthquake on the Turkish economy is 2 trillion TL, or 103.6 billion dollars. According to the report, which states that there are 2.6 million houses in total in the cities affected by the earthquake, one out of every 5 houses is either destroyed or uninhabitable. According to this table, the damage in the earthquake corresponds to 9 percent of Turkey's 2023 Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

	 

	INCOORDINATION OF THE STATE

	 

	Immediately after the earthquake, the biggest reaction of the people was the lack of coordination of state institutions. In the first three days of the earthquake, many government institutions, especially AFAD, Red Crescent and the army, did not start any work. While the crisis coordination desks established in the cities under the leadership of the governorships became a crisis, the search and rescue efforts were not started. As a result, thousands of people froze to death.

	 

	The state, which was not in the cities where the earthquake took place for days, emerged 3-4 days after the earthquake. With the action of state institutions, the first thing to do was to seize the aid sent from different cities to earthquake zones. Hundreds of trucks carrying aid materials were blocked at the checkpoints set up at the entrances of the cities where the earthquake took place. Some volunteers who came to help the earthquake victims were also turned away from the city entrance.

	 

	RED CRESCENT SOLD TENT

	 

	Due to the earthquake, hundreds of thousands of houses were destroyed, millions of people were left on the streets. The survivors of the earthquake, on the other hand, experienced a separate grievance. While hundreds of thousands of people were living on the streets despite the cold weather conditions, the Red Crescent, which was established to help the people and whose economy was provided by the tax and donations of the people, sold the tents in its hands. In the first days of the earthquake, AHBAP went to the earthquake area and established a network of assistance, and sought tents to solve the housing problem of the citizens. Kızılay sold 2 thousand 50 tents to AHBAP for 46 million TL. Another institution that Kızılay sells tents is the Turkish Pharmacists Association (TEB). TEB President Arman Üney announced that they purchased 5 tents from Kızılay for 140,000 TL each.

	 

	'RACIST DISCLAIMERS AND TORTURE'

	 

	President Erdoğan announced that they have declared a 3-month State of Emergency (OHAL) in 10 cities affected by the earthquake. Immediately after the state of emergency, news of torture and ill-treatment began to come. From the first days of the earthquake, refugees were exposed to marginalizing discourses by certain groups. Refugees were targeted with the posts on social media that the looting in the earthquake zones was carried out by Syrian refugees. Especially the statements made by Zafer Party Chairperson Ümit Özdağ made Syrian refugees a target.

	 

	Soldiers brought from different cities to ensure security after the third day of the earthquake brought along many violations of rights. By the Gendarmerie Special Operations (JÖH) teams deployed in Hatay, rights violations were committed against the people, democratic mass organizations and some political parties in solidarity. Police and soldier panzers and scorpions without license plates in Antakya and Defne districts, as well as plain-clothed minibuses and vehicles without license plates, spread fear and anxiety in the city.

	 

	On February 11, 27-year-old Ahmet Güreşçi, who was taken to Hatay's Altınözü District Gendarmerie Command for alleged "theft", was tortured to death there. In Adıyaman, 5 young people who came to help voluntarily were tortured by the police.

	 

	THERE IS STILL NO TENT

	 

	Although two months have passed since the earthquake, the need for tents of the people still has not been met. While a total of 637 thousand 222 independent sections were demolished in 11 provinces, the number of tents distributed remained at 411 thousand. Stating that the efforts to establish 209 container cities throughout the earthquake region are continuing, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu announced that although 60 days have passed since the earthquake, only 15,809 containers have been installed.

	 

	DEATH OF EARTHQUAKE

	 

	According to the data published by Deputy Chief of Police Resul Holoğlu, 51 children under care and supervision in the institutions of the Ministry of Family and Social Services, and 162 unidentified children in the institutions of the Ministry of Health are receiving treatment. 137 of these children are in the 0-1 age range. Noting that there were applications for missing people from the earthquake zones again, and that efforts are underway to find them, Holoğlu announced that there have been missing applications for 140 adults so far.

	 

	MIGRATIONS

	 

	A wave of migration also started with the earthquake. While some of the people in the earthquake zone, where 13 and a half million people lived, went to their relatives in the districts and villages, some of them moved to different cities, especially cities such as Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Mersin. According to the data published by GSM operators, it was determined that 2 and a half million phones that gave signals in earthquake cities 1 day before the earthquake gave signals in other cities. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that 2 million 200 thousand earthquake victims migrated to other cities. According to the data announced by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Turkey Representative Louisa Vinton, 2.7 million people migrated from the earthquake zone.

	 

	UNCERTAINTY IN LACK OF EDUCATION

	 

	President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that they are taking a break from education at universities across the country, and then they will switch to distance education. After a while, the President of the Higher Education Institution (YÖK) Erol Özvar stated that on April 3, students can start face-to-face education without the condition of attendance. In the earthquake zone, however, it remains unclear how and when education will be provided.

	 

	THE SOLIDARITY OF PEOPLES

	 

	Tens of thousands of citizens from many cities in Turkey and Kurdistan, such as Hakkari, Van, Batman, Diyarbakır, Şişman, Istanbul, İzmir, Ankara, Tokat, Manisa, who despaired of the government and state institutions, flocked to the earthquake area for solidarity with the earthquake.

	 

	Political parties such as the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), Democratic Regions Party (DBP), professional chambers and unions such as the Turkish Medical Association (TTB), the Confederation of Public Workers' Unions (KESK), the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB), and trade unions, all supported the people of the cities where the earthquake took place. They were the first to come and extend a hand to the citizens. They established a great solidarity network to solve many problems such as search and rescue efforts, food and shelter with the Crisis Coordination Desk they established in the cities where the earthquake took place. Thanks to these solidarity, hundreds of thousands of earthquake survivors gained the opportunity to live. This solidarity network established by the people continues.

	 

	MA / Ömer Akın