MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

 Antakya-Although one year has passed since the magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes that struck February 6, 2023, quake survivors in Antakya still cannot access health services, clean water and shelter. İlkay Yiğit, one of the quake survivors in the district, told us that they were deprived of their rights because of their Alevi identity.

‘We just hear the excavator sounds’

İlkay Aslan lives with her mother in a container. “Although a year has passed, nothing has been done. We have been left alone, forgotten. We just hear the excavator sounds.”

Our living conditions have been deteriorating in winter, İlkay Aslan told NuJINHA. “We have no water or electricity. Everyone faces serious problems. We are left alone under the rubble.”

‘We do not want spend a third winter outside’

All quake survivors do not want to spend another winter outside and demand their housing problem be solved. “After the earthquakes, we helped people. Volunteer teams pulled the dead bodies out of the rubble. We looked for tents for months but could not find any. We built a shelter by wrapping plastic around a covered patio. There were 30 people staying there. Then, we were given tents by volunteers from Bangladesh. While our own state did not give us a tent, we were given tents by another state. Now, I live in a container with my mother but inside the container is very cold. We struggle to survive without water and electricity.”

‘Alevis have been subjected to discrimination for years’

İlkay Aslan believes that they are left alone because they are Alevis. “We do not receive any help from anyone, except from volunteers. All we demand is a solution to our housing problem. Quake survivors face many problems, especially in winter. Alevis have been subjected to discrimination for years. We expect nothing from the government but demand our rights.”