In front of a collapsed building of the Rönesans residence in Antakya, Turkey, February 9, 2023. KHALIL HAMRA / AP
This mess! This disaster! And this anger that rises, gnaws and adds hatred to the infinite sadness. Beautiful Antakya is nothing but dust and ash, garbage and stench, pain, resentment. “You can’t do anything against nature,” says Cemal, a biology professor who traveled from Ankara the day after the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday, February 6, to mourn his son in the rubble to seek out what he believed to be the city’s most luxurious and secure building. The earth has its moods, its movements, it escapes us and that’s normal. On the other hand, it can be protected by appropriate laws that are strictly applied. Unfortunately, our government prioritizes campaigning and looting over integrity. I hold him responsible for this misfortune. »
He stands upright, legs apart, hands in his pockets, in front of the ruins of the residence, a horizontal bar with twelve floors, two hundred and fifty apartments, almost a thousand inhabitants. A luxury building built ten years ago with a reception hall, private car park, swimming pool, kindergarten and an extravagant name: Rönesans (Renaissance). “A corner of paradise,” the ad boasted, emphasizing its anti-seismic performance. “What a scam! ‘ says the professor. “Our researchers, engineers and seismographs have learned from past earthquakes. We created new building standards, they were ignored. We passed laws to condemn the corrupt construction workers, we gave them amnesty. Well, here is the result! »
He speaks loudly. And that seems to be a relief to everyone around him who doesn’t dare to express themselves and swallow their anger. Finally the truth! They need such a speaker who lost parents, children, brothers, sisters, friends in this broken building. Like Cemal, the professor, they had spent the previous five or six nights in their car or under the olive trees in a small garden nearby, in zero degrees, with no water, no electricity, no sanitation. And like him, they won’t be able to bring themselves to leave until they get messages from loved ones.
Also read: Article reserved for our subscribers In Turkey, a week after the earthquake, the humanitarian crisis is looming
” Where are they ? “
Almost one hundred and fifty people fled the ruins, about fifty bodies were found, what about the other eight hundred? “Where are they?” asks Aysil, a young woman who sets out to look for her sister, her brother-in-law, her baby. Why this negligence or these secrets? Why this delay and lack of efficiency in research? All international teams should be mobilized for this huge project. But no. While 800 people have disappeared, the Turkish rescuers maintain a stranglehold and their way of organizing the excavations is incomprehensible. What contempt for us all! »
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