The Revolutionary Construction and Road Workers Union (Dev Yapı İş) official Osman Ünel spoke to ANF in Antakya district of Hatay, one of the areas worst affected by two devastating earthquakes on February 6.

“We have been here for five days. We took part in search and rescue work during the first two days. We unload the aid trucks delivered here and set up tents,” said Ünel.

“We have run out of feelings, seeing dead bodies all around and people whose lives have been devastated,” Ünel added.

Ünal stated that a few teams of AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency) volunteers arrived in Antakya on the third and fourth day after the earthquake, but they lacked equipment and experience. “Apart from them, there was no official team to carry out the work. Revolutionaries and patriots joined the rescue efforts here, making endless efforts to distribute food and water to survivors and to set up tents. Official institutions started coming here only after the third day,” he added.

“Nothing is left of Antakya. There are no stable buildings left, except for a few which are severely damaged. We are of the opinion that the state will depopulate the region, reconstruct it and sell it to others, turning it into a source of profit, as they did in Sur,” Ünal added.