Great Migration From Earthquake Zone: ‘Maybe We Can’t Go Back’

Although the earthquakes centered on Kahramanmaraş caused extensive destruction in 10 provinces of Turkey, thousands of people who managed to survive but no longer have a home to go to, or whose houses were damaged, face an uncertain future.

The world press also shared with readers the stories of those who left the seismic zones, where a great tragedy was experienced.

Britain’s Reuters news agency spoke to earthquake survivors in Hatay, where almost no solid houses remain. Rıza Atahan, who placed his wife and daughter in the student dormitory open for earthquake victims and began to stand guard in front of their damaged house to protect their belongings, said, “I don’t have high expectations from life, but our children It is so important.” Atahan stated that she expects the chaos and difficulties in Hatay to last for months.

‘I WILL STAY TO PROTECT MY HOUSE’

The Syrian Hamza Bekri said that he was going to Isparta and said: “Our house was destroyed. Some of our relatives died, some are still under the rubble. We will not return to Hatay any more,” he said. The earthquake survivor named Fatma Yitir pointed out that they had been in the car for days and there was no water or electricity, saying: “We are thinking of going to Ankara and staying there for a while.”

An earthquake survivor said that he would not leave Antakya, saying: “I love this city. I will stay to protect our home and what we have accumulated over the years. “Even if it takes 3-4 years to rebuild this place, I won’t go,” he said.

A shopping mall in Gaziantep has been turned into a shelter for earthquake victims. (Antonio Pita)

Reuters claimed that more than 158,000 people in the region migrated to different cities after the quake, and those who left Hatay were not sure if they could return to the city again. Security forces were said to have asked earthquake victims where they would go and put them on buses heading to different cities.

‘POOR PEOPLE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR DAYS FOR FREE TICKETS’

The Spanish newspaper El País also wrote in the news that it passed through the area of ​​the earthquake, that there was a large migration from the places hit by the earthquake. After noting that many people were unable to leave the earthquake zone due to the difficulty in finding the free bus ticket, the Spanish newspaper emphasized that hundreds of thousands of people entered a process full of uncertainty.

Berna Toprakçı, whose house in Gaziantep was badly damaged and who had been in the car for days with her husband and three children, told El País that they would go first to Istanbul and then to the Netherlands, where her relatives were, and said: “No we know what will happen next. Maybe we’ll come back, or we can’t,” she said.

In the news, it was said that more than a million people were left homeless in earthquake zones with a population of more than 13 million. It was observed that especially poor citizens have been waiting for days to get on buses with free tickets and go to other places, and income inequality has become more apparent after the disaster.