The great earthquake of 6 February with epicentre in Maraş caused great destruction in Turkey in ten provinces with a population of 13.5 million people. In places with predominantly Alevi populations, earthquake victims are subjected to a process of destruction by human hands under the control of the state and religious orders.

Cuma Erçe, the chair of the Pir Sultan Abdal Alevi cultural association, confirmed that state institutions were not on the ground to conduct search and rescue operations and provide assistance during the critical period of the first days after the earthquake. They arrived in the region days later, he said, and initially intervened in civil society relief networks. Remarking that the concept of the service was commercialised by them, he said: "Alevi organisations have performed many tasks of the state from the beginning. Our cultural association and similar organisations took over the essential tasks that should have been done by the state. There were reports in the media about the terrible scenes we experienced when we came to the region. Unfortunately, when the state arrived, we found that the organisations were selling people's donations. Tents were sold, blood donations were sold."

Erçe also confirmed the allegations of sectarian discrimination in the distribution of relief goods to the earthquake victims and stated: "We saw with our own eyes that there was discrimination in the distribution of relief goods. When we went to the villages, we tried to reach out to everyone indiscriminately. We did not say: 'This is an Alevi village, this is a Sunni village'. However, we saw that, on the contrary, the authorities in the region delivered more aid to non-Alevi villages and made more efforts. They dropped aid from helicopters. Unfortunately, they did not support the Alevi villages with the same effort."

Relief supplies collected by civil society organisations have been confiscated in several places, Erçe said, such as the Alevi community centre (Cemevi) in the district of Pazarcık: "The Cemevi in Hasankoca village has been turned into a centre for the distribution of relief supplies. A coordination was set up there. It included CHP MP Orhan Sarıbal, HDP MP Zeynel Özen, Dersim Mayor Mehmet Fatih Maçoğlu, SDP, EMEP, KESK components and SES. The office of the district governor confiscated the materials that had been collected with the joint efforts of all these organisations. They said that they would do this work themselves. A trustee was appointed, but not for the Cemevi, but for the relief materials."

Cuma Erçe also drew attention to the activities of Islamic organisations in the tent settlements built for the earthquake victims. “These have reached dangerous proportions. Although these activities are openly carried out in full view of everyone, no action is taken against them by official institutions and organisations. It was reported in the press that a sign for a Koran course for children aged four to six was hung up in the tent city that was set up in the first days in the Nurdağı district in Antep. They do this without hiding or concealing themselves. There are children who have disappeared, children whose parents have been buried under the rubble. We receive news that these children have been placed in residential homes run by sects and the IHH. In Adıyaman. We have heard from our friends who have been there in person that thousands of tents have been provided to the Menzil sect, that container settlements have been built, that children who have lost their relatives have been handed over to them and that their education has been taken over by them. We have received hundreds of complaints from different tent cities on this issue."

Erçe emphasised that the Alevi community centres carry out many activities that the state should carry out in the region without any support. He concluded by saying, "We have buried thousands of deceased people. They were buried through our organisation. The Ministry of Interior constantly sends us messages of thanks through the Department of Associations because this task actually falls under its jurisdiction. The state collects taxes and donations and has the power. We didn't do it to do its job, but to fill the gap caused by the state."