“No one is coming here”: Thousands of people in Turkey were trapped under the debris of the earthquake

The neighbor has been dead more than a day. But Zekiye is unaware of all this. HE taken aback, out of place. The house where she lived half her life is no longer there, and her daughter and granddaughter forced the house into their car. The first thing is to run Antioch (Antakya)It is the city where the most people died in the earthquake that occurred on Monday morning in Turkey.

Second thing, get yourself. “We’re all in shock, but my grandma loss. This was terrible. Fortunately, he was rescued early. But my fiance didn’t manage to escape from her house until Monday afternoon. we thought there was dead. Fortunately, we are all well, but ‘Antakya’ is no more. nothing anymore. Our entire neighborhood is now a wasteland runessays Meltem, Zekiye’s granddaughter.

According to the latest figures, a total of 5,000 people were killed and 25,000 injured in the earthquake; Both in northern Syria and in southern Turkey. About a thousand of all deaths occurred in the same city, Antakya, the ancient cradle of Christianity. This is where the apostle Paul began to preach his new religion to the world, hiding himself and his congregation in caves near the town hall.

But now the city is in ruins. What was once known architecturally as ‘Turkish Aleppo’ is now a collapsed building pile and others to demolish. Destinies converge, ten years later: there is no home that does not exist, albeit for different reasons. damage in two cities. All of them are missing a wall, the glass is broken, the balcony on the upper floors is shattered. Many are not even standing. Antakya says its inhabitants no longer exist. Finished.

“This is incredible. We’re here for more than a day. There are people there and no one is coming! We posted this morning two corpses rune and they are there, still on the ground! And no one is coming!” a man from a nearby town complains. Iskenderunhis friends – they’re all neighbors, not professional rescuers – trying to move debris falling building.

In total, in Turkey, 10 cities affected there are deaths by earthquake and all of them. The magnitude of the disaster is so great that many affected areas and buildings have yet to receive emergency aid despite the arrival of international aid, despite rescue teams sent by governments from all over Europe, including Spain.

“No one comes here. We’re all waiting for the cemetery. Those who have relatives inside know they’re dead,” the man exclaims. “Any questions and conversations are unnecessary. Here need machines. Professionals, rescue services. Teams have to come with their vehicles and lift all the heavy blocks. If not, there’s nothing left to do. And I won’t say anything more,” says a colleague.

Sleep… where?

With broken connections and nearly shut down internet in the area, for many the only way to know what to do is radio. These days of February, the area is below freezing, night frosts and even snow in some affected provinces.

“This is a message for the entire region. Please, do not enter their house. Nueva Adana sports center, Adana multi-purpose sports center, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk cultural center; In Antioquía, Mustafa Kemal Sports Center, Hatayspor Sports Stadium, Local Gendarmerie General Command…”. advert foreveras long as there are millions of people exposed overnight.

In the centre, this Tuesday afternoon, the speed is insane. Ambulances are running full throttle on highways. Every few minutes, one helicopter descends into the police compound, then fires in the opposite direction. Hundreds of people are piling up in the area, walking and hopefully waiting to get some. blanket or a donut to pass the night and calm the stomach. The lucky ones will sleep in their own rooms. cars, stopping somewhere nearby or heading to unaffected areas of Turkey. Those who don’t – and basically don’t have the resources to be so lucky – will either sleep or stick around makeshift campfires in the fields around the headquarters.

Escape

Meanwhile, Zekiye and her family, after succeeding in filling their warehouses, gasoline — now, only in Antioch the lucky ones who can pay the inflated price – they leave. “Look son… I just bought this sweater from home… I don’t have anything else, I don’t have anything else,” the woman says, holding her grandson by the hand and comforting him.

Then Zekiye bursts into tears. In a few minutes they will leave Antakya and be safe, but the crying continues. “She doesn’t cry for the Kazakh, she told me before,” says her granddaughter, Meltem. She cries because she forgot her house keys.