Earthquake in Turkey: a traumatized country

A month after the earthquake, Iskanderun (Turkey) still bears the scars of the disaster. In the streets, relief has given way to bulldozers. No more looking for survivors, we have to demolish. The house of this family was destroyed, now on the street, they try to recover what they can. “All my valuables are here. Thieves are on the prowl. The police barely keep them away. How do I live?”, laments the mother. A few kilometers away, in the station, the trains serve as shelter for the most vulnerable. In Turkey, the homeless number in the millions. Around the cities, container forests have grown, where people live in very precarious conditions.

Humanitarian aid was slow to arrive

In rural areas, the situation is even worse. AT Buyuknacar, a village located 1450 meters above sea level, was badly affected. This woman is still mourning her husband and two of her children: “I lost my husband and my children, the other four survived, what to do? Look at my house, how to take care of four children?”. Elsewhere, many live from breeding, but it is impossible when the distribution circuits are out of service. But above all, humanitarian aid took long weeks to arrive in these remote areas.

Throughout the country, uninterrupted threads of sick, wounded. In this field hospital, between 150 and 180 people present themselves every day. Everyone here is aware that it will take years for Turkey to recover from this tragedy.