Turkey: Endless Tragedy – ‘I’ll Wait Here All My Life’

With rescue efforts halted across much of Turkey and Syria after the devastating earthquake, hopes of finding missing people are fading, and those who managed to survive are now dealing with the pain of losing loved ones.

More than two weeks after the earthquakes that destroyed Antakya (Antioch), Turkey, Mustafa Qazzaz He got off near the ruins of the building where he was staying his family, refused to leave there, Even after the end of investigations to locate the bodies of his father, brother and sister.

“They worked and worked. They worked,” he said, sitting alone in the dark on a plot of land across from the building where his family lived.

“I’m told the job is over. There’s no one else. L.LA “Your brother, your sister, your father is not here.” how is that possible;”

Rescue operations in 10 provinces hit by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake on Feb. 6 that killed More than 47,000 people In southern Turkey and northern Syria, it largely stopped last Sunday.

When another earthquake struck Hatay province on Monday, several buildings collapsed, killing six people and prompting new rescue operations. but By Tuesday, efforts to rescue survivors had stalled and downtown Antakya was deserted.

Only the sounds of excavators removing rubble from collapsed buildings could be heard nearby as emergency workers tried to locate the bodies of a mother and daughter.

Qazzaz, a 25-year-old Syrian who arrived in Turkey with his family five years ago, He was sitting on a chair next to a tent where he had been sleeping for the past 15 days.

“I will wait here for the rest of my life,” Qazzaz said, holding his head in his hands as he wept.I knew at least 250 people on this street. Now they are all deadhe said, referring to a main road in Antakya where his family lives.

Qazzaz lived in Trabzon, northeastern Turkey, where he worked as a translator in the tourism industry. He spent the day before the first earthquake in Antakya, where he visited his family for the first time in years.

“I worked for three years in Trabzon, saving money for marriage. My mother turned everything into gold and everything stayed in the house. (Now) I start from scratch.”

When he knew the first earthquake, he hastened back to Antioch. said so He pulled his sister and mother out of the rubble by himself, without the help of the authorities.

Video of what he said was his rescue attempt showed him climbing through a narrow opening between the collapsed roof and the floor until only his feet were visible.

His mother was already dead He recalled that when he pulled it out his sister died soon after. In another video, he showed his sister’s body covered in a pink blanket.

“I lived for them. It’s like a newborn. I have no one. I have no money. I have nothing. I have no future. I have no home.”

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