In Türkiye, earthquake survivors learn by SMS of the end of government housing assistance

A year and a half after the earthquakes that killed more than 50,000 people in the south-east of the country and razed entire towns, the needs are still colossal.

A simple SMS. In Türkiye, earthquake victims Deadly from February 5 to 6, 2023 still on the streets learned through a message sent to their phones that the monthly aid they had been receiving since the disaster would end in June. A year and a half after the earthquakes that killed more than 50,000 people in the south-east of the country and leveled entire towns, the needs are still colossal. Hundreds of thousands of people are still in containers, in tents, on the streets, without a roof over their heads… And summer brings no respite, with its scorching heat and the dire lack of water.

The 5,000 pounds per month, about 150 euros, thus provided an essential supplement to those who had lost everything, their loved ones, their home, their job, their car. This sometimes represents up to a third or half of the rent. And it was by a simple text message that Afad, the organization that manages disasters, informed the tenants that the aid received in June would be the last. As always, the message ends like this:May Allah save our Nation and our State from any disaster“, a cruel irony in this case.

However, if this SMS was sent in mid-June, the anger has not subsided since. Because the Turkish government had nevertheless committed to ensuring that the aid would be paid as long as the new houses were not delivered. However, less than 10% of the promised housing has actually been built, thunders the opposition. She will launch, she says, the biggest rent offensive ever known in Turkey if aid is not restored. But Turkish finances are in dire straits and Afad specifies that this exceptional aid is a first and that it had been promised for 12 months.

The president of the CHP, the Republican People’s Party, Özgur Özel was this week touring the region, particularly in Malatya. “Herehe is indignant, 94% of people are still on the street! They shelter in tents, containers, or have had to go elsewhere to get shelter.t”. Of the 100,000 houses promised in Malatya, only 7,000 have been delivered, he adds. Antioch, almost razed on February 6, 2023, still looks like a huge container city. The victims’ association specifies that there too, only 10% of the promised housing has actually been built. And often, adds the association, without even the access infrastructure or connections being made.

There is also uncertainty about whether the aid granted to owners of destroyed or badly damaged houses will continue to be paid. The amount of 7,500 Turkish liras should be maintained, but not the amount granted until now to ordinary tenants. However, rents in the area have tripled. The victims say they can no longer sleep, like this young woman who managed to save 1,000 liras each month on the aid received. The money saved was supposed to be used to go and pay her respects at the grave of her son, whom she lost in the earthquake and who is buried several hundred kilometres away, this summer. She now asks:What will I do ? Should I pay my rent or go to my son’s grave?“