Turks risk everything to buy their stuff – #Turks #risk #buy #stuff

ANTAKYA, TurkeyFeb 21 (Reuters) – Turkey earthquake survivors risked returning to their damaged or destroyed homes for a last chance to save their past lives, hours before another deadly earthquake hit the region on Monday.

Reuters saw dozens of people clambering over mounds of rubble, crawling through cracked walls and climbing broken ladders to pick up documents, furniture and electrical appliances – anything that might help them start over.

Turkey and two weeks after the first major earthquake in Syria, most of the inhabitants of Antioch had left or taken refuge in camps. South of town again on Monday earthquake when it happened, local media reported that at least three people were taking things away perished stated that

Because the damage is great, we are trying to save what we have,” said Yasir Bayrakçı. “What is your state? compensation we don’t know yet.

Latest UpdatesMiddle East categoryIsrael parliament court puts forward the controversial law on the overhaul of the system, video Article with VideoWorld categoryIran India will refrain from Raisina dialogue due to mention of protests, pictorial article

See 2 more stories

His family lost his sister, one of 15 siblings, in the earthquake that occurred on February 6. Six days later, after his body was found under the rubble, he was buried.

28 year old natural gas pipe welder “We cannot bring back the dead. But because we are alive, we are trying to remove whatever is left,” he said.

Bayrakçi and 6 relatives returned to help their brothers remove their belongings from their apartment. Smaller items were collected in garbage bags and fertilizer bags. Inside, the kitchen cabinet doors were opened, the paint on the walls was chipped, and the cracked facade was partially destroyed.

Through the open window of the second-floor apartment, now in the rubble of the adjacent building, they carried a mattress, a couch and a washing machine behind them, trying not to fall on chunks of concrete as they walked in sandals. .

“Slowly, slowly,” said one.

“Give me the poker table, too,” someone said half-jokingly as the doll was thrown at him.

The belongings will be stored in a family home in a nearby village, which Flagner believes is safe. “We built it with our own hands, so we trust it in every way.”

TELEVISIONS AND TOILET PAPER

In another neighborhood of Antakya, Kinan al-Masri hoped to get some savings, passports and birth certificates from his apartment. After the first earthquake, he returned to his street every two days, but authorities told him it was too dangerous to go inside.

The purple-tiled compound he and his relatives built to house the seven families is dilapidated but still stands, the farmers sitting deceptively flat on balconies.

“We invested everything we had in this building. Now it is ready to be dismantled,” said the 30-year-old translator.

Although all of her relatives are safe, she said she misses her neighborhood, where most of the buildings along the street have been reduced to rubble.

Phone numbers and names of buildings still standing were written on cracked walls so authorities could contact residents if necessary. Many apartments still looked frozen, with televisions hanging from the walls, toilet paper stacked in open bathroom cabinets, and couches still arranged around the living room table.

In a nearby street, a family sat on a mat surrounded by a pile of plates, rugs and stoves. They had rented a crane to remove the heavier furniture and were negotiating a price with the operator.

“It’s too risky,” said the operator.

“We still want it,” replied one disappointed family member.

EMPTY HAND

Bilal Ibrahim survived the initial earthquake with his wife and children, but his brother died.

After being pulled from the rubble, his baby nephew, who was taken to an ambulance, was missing, and Ibrahim was going from one hospital to another to find him.

On Monday, a 34-year-old mechanic was tying his broken red Suzuki Maruti car to his dead brother’s car with a metal wire he found in the debris.

According to him, the apartment where he lived with his family for 7 years will be demolished and he could not go inside to take anything.

“The most important thing is that my family is safe,” he said, unable to hold back tears. “Losing my brother is like losing the whole world.”

Arsin, who only asked to remain anonymous, was climbing down from the rubble with his father, carrying things wrapped in 7 beds. At least one makeshift sack was filled with documents needed for his accounting work.

According to him, they left their apartments to stay in university dormitories in Mersin. “We are tired.”

After the first shock, 33-year-old Gocan Karadeniz stood looking at his apartment on the first floor in Antakya for the first time. The walls were almost completely open so he could see the dust covered olive couch turned on its side.

He said he had hoped to retrieve some of his belongings before authorities demolished the building, but it was too dangerous to go inside.

After looking at the building for a few minutes, Karadeniz got into the car and drove away without buying anything.

Henriette Chacar and Ali Report by Küçükkoçmen; Edited by Jonathan Spicer and Christina Fincher

Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

2023-02-21 18:45:50
Source – reuters

Translation“24 HOURS”