The residents of Karaağaç village in Adiyaman province, one of the cities where the 6 February earthquake caused massive destruction, continue to experience the impacts of the disaster. Villagers say that they have not received any help from the state.
Karaağaç, a Kurdish Alevi village in Adiyaman, has received no support from state-run relief organizations since the first day of the earthquake. Even those trapped under the rubble were pulled by the residents themselves. Tobacco planting and stock farming, the main sources of income in the village, have been interrupted by the earthquake. Tobacco crops and animals remained under the rubble. What people could hardly save is either wasted or already unusable.
The villagers desperately need tents to protect their animals and the tobacco they have saved. They say that they have repeatedly expressed their demands, but have not been offered any permanent solution.
Mehmet Taner lost his 22-year-old son in the first earthquake on the morning of 6 February. Taner said that 4 members of his family were staying in the same room, and they ran outside when the earthquake hit the village, leaving their house collapsed.
EVERYTHING HAPPENED IN 5 MINUTES
“At that moment, we couldn't even make a sound. We survived, but my 22-year-old son died. It didn't even take 5 minutes for our house to collapse and my son to die. The villagers stayed in tobacco tents for 2-3 nights. Now, it is the state that should provide help, because our relatives died, and our property was destroyed. People from all over Turkey are helping us.”
ONLY CIVILIAN ORGANIZATIONS DELIVERED AID
Another villager, Hasan Cömert, said that the earthquake occurred while people were sleeping in their houses. He added: “We went outside and started shouting. We rescued some villagers. We could not enter our houses. It started to rain and snow. Then a second earthquake hit the village which was worse than the first one. In fact, the second earthquake brought more destruction. We have survived with our own efforts. People are still outside. They cannot enter their houses. Recently, a rescue team came and told us not to enter the houses for the next 15 days. They should provide us with food, clothing and tents for shelter. All the aid we received was provided by civilian relief organizations. We have not seen any state-run organizations.”
