A yr on, those that survived and stay in Hatay province nonetheless stay with the impression.
A lot of the province collapsed within the quake however lots of of destroyed buildings have but to be demolished, and lots of the two-thirds of Hatay’s residents who stayed within the province now stay in container houses.
In October, Yanar’s household moved into yet one more container dwelling, which has a small front room with an open kitchen, one bed room and a rest room. He says a four-fold bounce in rents within the space means there isn’t a choice to maneuver out.
In the identical container metropolis, Ali Riza and Sunay Gazaloglu sit on a settee with their daughter, Ela, between them. The nine-year previous was the one considered one of their three daughters to outlive when their dwelling collapsed a yr in the past.
Ela performs with a pink teddy bear with out saying a phrase. She is afraid of coming into buildings and doesn’t go to her four-storey college.
“We had been a contented household earlier than the earthquake. I had a job, now I can not work after present process three operations,” stated Ali Riza, who suffered critical accidents to his again when the quake struck.
For now, his household covers day by day bills with funding supplied to victims by the Turkish Pink Crescent.
HAUNTING MEMORIES
Within the wake of the catastrophe, President Tayyip Erdogan’s authorities promised to rebuild 680,000 houses throughout 11 provinces over two years, together with some 250,000 in Hatay. Officers unveiled the most recent houses for households within the run-up to the one-year anniversary.
Residents say the container houses are typically heat sufficient at evening. Different displaced residents ended up in prefabricated homes which might be a bit bigger with two bedrooms and a front room.
They embody Gulcan Yilmaz, 47, a mom of two, who was miraculously rescued from the rubble of her eight-storey constructing 5 days after the quake.
“My ft and arms had been hanging within the air,” she stated of when she was trapped beneath rubble.
“Once I freed my palms, I tore out my hair that was caught. Then, my damaged hand fell on my lap. I sat on a skinny board for 5 days. I couldn’t transfer my ft. The birds got here, I talked to them there beneath rubble.”
Yilmaz was later taken to Adana province by helicopter. When she opened her eyes in an intensive care unit, she noticed that her legs had been amputated after getting gangrene from the chilly. She has since returned to Hatay for physiotherapy to assist her together with her prosthetic legs and, after dwelling in a tent, moved in September to the prefabricated dwelling within the Ekinci neighbourhood of Antakya metropolis.
“In my eyes, this prefab house is a palace. However I need to stay in considered one of these new residences the federal government is constructing,” she stated.
