The Press in Turkey | “It is always the poorest who suffer the most”

(Adana and Kahramanmaraş) Last week’s powerful earthquake, which claimed thousands of lives, also turned the lives of Syrian refugees in southeastern Turkey upside down, who feel like fate is against them .

“It’s a crisis within a crisis. We have already had refugees, the pandemic and inflation, but it is always the poorest people who suffer the most,” says John Scott, co-founder of the NGO Anything for a Smile. For the past week, his team has been on the road every day from Adana to bring a little help to the areas devastated by the earthquake.

This American of origin, who has lived for 25 years in the region, is not in his first emergency situation. He notably helped during the 1999 earthquake which affected Istanbul, among other places. But this situation is the worst he has ever seen.

“We try to send as much help as possible to these families. We can’t leave them like this,” he says, before breaking down in tears, still traumatized by all the scenes of apocalypse and death he has seen in recent days.

Many Syrian refugees live in areas devastated by the earthquake, which also concentrate many vulnerable people, with few resources.

Among them, Hibe, a 16-year-old Syrian girl, who since Monday has had to face a new trauma. After fleeing the war in her country, she now has to deal with the loss of several members of her family in Kahramanmaraş. “We came here for a better life, but now we are living in disaster,” she says, tears in her eyes.

Next to her is Ibrahim, a 12-year-old boy who, in broken English, explains that he prefers soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo to Lionel Messi. Passionate about soccer, he barely had time to take a ball from his house during the earthquake.

Heedless of what is really going on, he takes the ball and plays laughing with his friends. Meanwhile, her older sister collects blankets for the next night, which will be cold again.

Important needs

In Kahramanmaraş, the epicenter of last Monday’s earthquake, the devastation is total. The city of almost two million inhabitants is almost completely destroyed. Dust and debris are everywhere. It is total desolation. Many residents have built makeshift shelters throughout the city, on sidewalks, in parks, in the bus station or in fields.

A team from the NGO Anything for a Smile went there at the weekend to bring aid to a park located in the heights of the destroyed city. Once a popular place for barbecues and a playground for children, the park now serves as a refuge for hundreds of people.

That day, the NGO brings them mattresses, blankets, clothes and food. Everyone rushes towards the truck which has just stopped, hungry and cold.

With the tragedy, many have lost the little they had and no longer have the means to survive, which could create tensions, especially with NGOs.

Over the weekend, an Israeli NGO announced it was halting its operations due to a “serious threat” to the safety of its team there, while the Austrian army and a German association had temporarily taken a similar decision. For the moment, John Scott’s NGO has not experienced this kind of situation, but caution remains in order, he says.

On the heights of this Kahramanmaraş park, a woman keeps crying. Emine still hasn’t heard from several members of her family, including her son. They have been under rubble since Monday.

“I’m so mad at the people who built these houses, they messed with people’s lives,” she says, pointing to her friend’s hands, which is holding a small packet of cookies.

“My house is now just sand, everything is destroyed, not even the size of this packet of biscuits remains,” she explains, screaming in pain. Impossible to think about the future until she finds her son’s body.

This is just the beginning

These scenes of desolation are omnipresent in Kahramanmaraş and sometimes even become shocking. Everywhere, victims are trying to survive as best they can, with almost nothing. Volunteers from Istanbul to lend a hand to the NGO cannot hold back their tears when they get back in the minibus to go from area to area where the needs are most urgent.

“This earthquake caused us to lose so many people in a few seconds. When you see these situations, you can only cry, you can’t hold back your tears, even if you are strong deep inside,” says Mahmoud Alrawi, who has worked at the NGO for several years.

Help has arrived to the victims of several regions in the last days. But the number of people affected by this earthquake and the vast region affected do not allow us to meet all the needs. A week after the earthquake, uncertainty about the future is growing.

“It’s probably going to be a long-term crisis,” said another NGO employee, who fears months of crisis. “There are so many people on the street. They don’t even have a toilet to go to. What will happen to them after ten days? Maybe there will be bacteria or even diseases,” adds Metehan Yeltekin.

Added to this, there are already fears that the situation in Turkey and Syria will be forgotten. As we are about to leave, Hibe, the 16-year-old Syrian girl, rushes up behind us and grabs my hand. Looking at me straight in the eye with a smile, she said to me: “don’t forget me, above all”.