Al Jazeera spoke to earthquake survivors about the election: ‘Change is essential’
As Turkey lives the excitement of the second round of the presidential elections to be held on May 28, hundreds of thousands of people whose lives have been upended by terrible earthquakes are worried about what may happen after the elections.
Qatar-based Al Jazeera television discussed its expectations of the election with earthquake victims living in tents in Gaziantep. Stating that many earthquake survivors followed the first round of elections with emotion, he described the night of May 14 as “the longest night in the last 20 years.”
Özlem and his 7-month-old daughter Asel, who are fighting for their lives in the shop
Noting that more than 50,000 people lost their lives and more than 3 million were left homeless as a result of the earthquakes, Al Jazeera said earthquake victims had to make extra efforts to vote. The Özlem-Abbas couple, whose home was badly damaged in Gaziantep and took refuge in a tent with their two daughters, said they had previously supported the AKP, but the earthquake also changed their political views.
‘WE WERE REFUGEES IN OUR OWN COUNTRY’
“Now we are refugees in our own country. We couldn’t get enough support,” said Abbas, 49. Noting that they could not afford the rent for a new house, Abbas stated that they wanted to postpone the elections until the effect of the earthquake subsided, but this did not happen.
Expressing that they cannot think about the future right now, but still go to the polls early on May 14, Özlem said that they did not vote in 2018, but decided to vote after the earthquake, saying: “We lost hope about the politicians, but a change is needed.” The family said they were afraid their tents would be taken away after the election.
On the other hand, Al Jazeera recalled that the earthquakes did not have the expected effect at the polls and that many earthquake victims still voted for the government despite all the reactions. In the news, it was emphasized that thousands of earthquake victims are still fighting for their lives in tents during the electoral process.