Turkey-Syria quakes: Living in the rubble, six months on

By B UNVEREN, ATEKIN

WASHINGTON: On February 6 this year, massive earthquakes devastated regions of southeastern Turkey and northern Syria. Some 60,000 people in Turkey lost their lives and 125,000 more were injured. Thirteen cities were impacted by the catastrophe, including the city of Atakya in the southeastern Turkish province of Hatay. The mood in the region is still quite somber, but life continues, even though many people have been forced to live in tents.

Leyla Seker is one of many people who lost their homes in the earthquake. Today, the 65-year-old lives alone in a tent, like thousands of other people in the region. She has set up her tent in the neighborhood where she used to live, on a field next to some 10 other people.

Historically significant buildings like the Hatay Parliament Building and a 1,500-year-old mosque collapsed as well. Seker explains the city isn’t the same anymore. “It’s like a ghost town here,” she says with tears in her eyes. Her house was so severely damaged by the earthquake that it had to be demolished last month. She occasionally visits the rubble of her old home to think about the old days.

Even though the earthquake was half a year ago, the living conditions for many residents in Hatay remain very bad. Above all, many people are worried about the lack of clean drinking water. The damage to the region’s water supply still hasn’t been repaired. Residents currently have two options to get water: Either they buy it in the supermarket, or they drink the water that was provided to them by state-backed aid organisations.

According to the city medical association in Antakya, the administrative capital of Hatay, only 10% of the population currently have access to clean water. The lack of drinking water and proper sanitation increases the risk of epidemics. Locals say diarrhea is widespread there. According to the Chamber of Urban Planners in Hatay, 600,000 people in the region were made homeless. Many either moved to other cities, or they live in tents.

Before the earthquakes, 1.6 million people lived in Hatay province. The government has announced plans to build new apartment buildings for those affected by the disaster. Mehmet Ozhaseki, the environment minister, says the State aims to provide 255,000 new apartments.

According to official data, construction of more than 3,000 apartment buildings is underway, and the first apartments should be ready to live in by December. The government will cover 60% of the costs and those affected will pay 40%. The loans will be able to be repaid over a period of 20 years.

Experts are concerned about whether the plans can even be successfully implemented. Serkan Koc from the Chamber of Urban Planners in Hatay insists that the government must invest more in the region’s devastated infrastructure, especially so people can have more access to clean water, electricity and internet.

He also highlights the current popularity of unregulated new housing projects, saying that housing is being built all over the place without permits. “They’re being built like crazy. A city is like a living organism. When the government can’t fulfill residents’ basic need for shelter, then people will come up with their own solutions,” Koc says.

Straight after the catastrophe, many people complained that aid arrived there relatively late, which many suspected had political reasons.