Antakya is no more. Of the ancient city located in the south of Turkey, formerly called Antioch, only crumbs of buildings remain that diggers clear all day. Between two mountains of rubble, there is a crossover of hearses and trucks loaded with the last pieces of furniture that the lucky ones have managed to save. All are fleeing the region affected by the February 6 earthquake which killed more than 44,000 people in Turkey and Syria and its many aftershocks such as the February 20 earthquakes.
“Since the earthquake, the violence has increased. The women come to tell us that their husbands beat them in the car or in the tent where they now live. » Cigdem Serin, a volunteer
Nearly 1.4 million people are housed in tents, others are sleeping in cars, parks or on the streets, according to AFAD, the government’s natural disaster management body. Along the green corridor of Sevgi Park, line up dozens of tents and food distribution stands, or mobile kitchens managed by NGOs. “Point of female solidarity”, reads on a white curtain hung on a pergola.
Behind the fabric, three tents and a “women’s café” with its boxes as seats, its improvised trash can stove where clementine peelings burn and a teapot smokes. Half a dozen women, some wearing purple waistcoats with the female symbol on them, others with veils on their heads and slippers on their feet, are having tea. Created by the feminist network Kadin Savunmasi, this place welcomes disaster victims.
“I would like extra large towels”, Furuzan asks, a large beige and purple scarf covering his whole head. Since the earthquake, this 50-year-old has lived in her car with her husband. Her house is standing but she is afraid to enter it. “For the first five days, we couldn’t change our underwear, she confides with an embarrassed smile. We didn’t dare ask the NGOs for them, and when a woman told us that they gave towels or panties to such and such a place, we went there. Heads down, we whispered so that no one could hear us. »
A country where menstruation is taboo
On February 10, when the American company Kotex announced a donation of 1 million sanitary napkins to the disaster areas, men criticized the gesture on Twitter, in this country where menstruation is taboo. Women talking online about the shortage of these products have received messages asking them to show some decency. At the point of female solidarity, 200 women order sanitary protection every day, which they dare not do elsewhere.
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