Three weeks have passed since Tocci Siren Gul’s aunt and grandmother were killed in Antioch, when a devastating earthquake struck southeastern Turkey, and yet every night she waits until 4.17am, the time the disaster struck, trying to sleep.
And when the earthquake occurred, Jules, 28, managed to escape from the house with her mother moments before the walls collapsed, and she said: I keep thinking that another disaster will happen at that time .. and I am waiting for it to pass.
After she reached the street barefoot, Jules saw the bodies of neighbors who had been killed by falling concrete, and she remembered the cries of those trapped in the collapsed buildings.
Gul said the horror caused a deep psychological crisis for the survivors, who lost everything. In the quake-ravaged city of Antioch, she wants to one day seek professional help to recover from the trauma, but for now, creating a new life for herself and her family is the only priority.
The deadliest earthquake
Experts and officials said the 7.8-magnitude earthquake, the deadliest in Turkey’s modern history, will have a profound psychological impact.
More than 44,300 people have died in the country, more than 1.5 million people have been left homeless in the freezing weather, and millions have lost family members, jobs, savings and hopes for the future.
Experts fear children are the worst affected, and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said many of the 5.4 million children living in the quake zone are at risk of developing anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
“We know how important learning and routine are for children and their recovery,” said Afshan Khan, UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, after a visit to Turkey.
She added: They need to be able to resume their education and are in dire need of psychosocial support to help deal with the trauma they have experienced.
Long term support
In a large camp for the displaced next to Hatay Stadium, on the outskirts of Antakya, psychosocial support teams have set up small play areas and pitched tents filled with toys.
The children sat on multicolored chairs in front of a large portable screen showing cartoons, and some children played childish games.
Muhammad Sari, a government psychosocial support worker, said that he and others in his team detected signs of trauma in the children, adding to Reuters: We see that some children cannot sleep and some cannot eat, and some of them regain memories of what happened and wet their sleeping places.
And he added: They need long-term support to recover from the trauma.
Turks are suffering greatly
Turkey’s Ministry of Family and Social Services said it has sent more than 3,700 social workers to support survivors in the quake zone.
Volunteers from the Socak Sanatlari Atulici Art Group, in Izmir, dressed up in Superman and clown costumes and gave activities to children living in tents at a shelter in Hatay province.
But a massive 6.4-magnitude earthquake shattered efforts to give children some sense of normalcy, given the horrific aftershocks that had been going on for weeks.
Ayşe Bilç Selçuk, a professor and psychologist at MEF University in Turkey, said that the Turkish people are already under great pressure, due to the increasing poverty and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and now the earthquake has taken it to the next level.
She added: The tension is chronic and continuous, and it is now beyond the level we can bear. For this nation to stand on its own two feet, we need to find that strength within ourselves and this starts with our psychological state.
Prevalence of anxiety and depression
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pledged to rebuild the homes within a year, but it will be several months before thousands can leave the tents or shipping containers and daily queues to get food and move into permanent housing, which is key to gaining the sense of normality and safety they have lost.
People appear numb, which is likely a defense mechanism for dealing with insurmountable stress, according to Selcuk.
Anxiety, helplessness and depression are likely to run rampant, and young people may feel angry.
Selçuk said rebuilding efforts must include mental health, urging the government to provide funding for trained psychologists to send to the quake zone and stay there. She added: Sustainability is key, we should not turn our attention away after three months.