Hope begins with silence, demanded by men in dusty clothes. You have to be silent to hear a sign of life from those stuck. « Kimse var mi ? » (“Is there anyone there?”), shout these men in front of concrete walls. Throughout the city, voices still echo. They are weak, exhausted. Some cry or make invocations.
Antakya, in the south of Turkey, has lived since the earthquake of Monday February 6 in the morning under a constant sound of sirens. The rescue task was immense: almost all of the city, which had nearly 200,000 inhabitants, was razed to the ground. The buildings that still stand are in danger of collapsing at any moment.
Should you wait for help that is delayed or go there yourself?
Brave or reckless climb on the rubble and try to get rid of pieces that are twice their size. On the old Fatih Avenue, a debate is taking place: should you wait for help that is slow or go there yourself? The lessons of the earthquake of Izmit, in the North, in 1999, were not learned: part of the 17,000 dead then had perished crushed by their relatives who tried to save them. But how to stay there waiting, on a torn piece of mattress or wrapped in a blanket? Özgur came in fourth gear from Osmaniye, 150 kilometers to the north, this morning. «My nephew’s wife is still stuck, we are slowly losing hope,” he confides. Her sister, squatting in front of what must have been a balcony, bursts into tears. There is no longer an answer to the question « Kimse var mi ? »
Three buildings further, the outcome is different. The dust-covered men brought out, alive, three members of the Tokmak family, from the 4e stage. The father, his wife and his daughter are seated on the floor. They haven’t had a drink for thirty-six hours, their lips are parched and their bones hurt. A neighbor has to pour them water drop by drop from his fingertip. The three bodies tremble. They can’t move their limbs, they say. Only their eyes roll from left to right, looking at the worried audience around them. We throw ourselves into the arms of happiness. Earlier, an old lady was taken out in a pink sheet. His eyes no longer moved.
Help didn’t come fast enough
Not a street is spared. Antakya has become like a labyrinth formed by the vagaries of landslides. Some corners are inaccessible to machines. To get there, you have to climb a car or pass under a sheet metal plate that was a roof a few days ago. When the ambulances arrive on time despite the traffic jams, many parents take the opportunity to make a remark to them, which sometimes degenerates into insults. Help did not arrive fast enough, according to the victims. They believe that the extent of the damage in this area, yet 200 kilometers from the epicenter, has been underestimated by the authorities.
Hatay is poorer and more isolated than other areas affected by the earthquake. Residents believe that, in this election period, the government only sends aid to the big cities. An assertion difficult to verify which illustrates the state of mind of the victims. Others speak of the presence of Syrians, more numerous than elsewhere and marginalized, to explain the delay in relief.
A rescuer from Istanbul, who has not slept since arriving on Monday morning, said he understood these reactions. «We are not enoughhe explains in the back of a pick-up. Antakya is not such a big city, and despite this some families have still not seen a uniform to help them. » Yet, day and night, convoys are rolling flat out on congested roads. Many families have taken the wheel without really knowing where to go: direction Ankara or Adana, or even Istanbul. Those who stayed wander, looking for water, gasoline – the queues get longer every hour – or an Internet connection to find out about the state of the roads.
—————————–
An ever-worsening balance sheet
More than 5,000 dead, this is the constantly worsening toll of the earthquake that devastated Turkey and Syria.
In Syria, at least 1,622 people died and 3,640 were injured, according to Syrian authorities and rescue workers in rebel areas.
23 million people are “potentially exposed, including around five million vulnerable people”warned the World Health Organization (WHO) which promised its support.
185 replicas followed Monday’s earthquake, including one of 7.5, Monday February 6 at midday, and another of 5.5 on Tuesday before dawn.