MEREŞ - Ayşe Terzi, who lost her daughter and grandchildren in Nergele, one of the places where there was loss and damage in the earthquake, expresses what happened by saying, "I don't know where the state is, there is none, they did not reach, all of them froze to death, most of our people went out of neglect.”

 

Tens of thousands of people lost their lives and tens of thousands of people were seriously injured in the two earthquakes that occurred in Mereş on February 6. The pain of the destruction in the district of Elbistan is increasing every minute. In Elbistan, which came two days after the earthquake, the people were almost alone for two days. Dozens of people who were under the collapsed debris in the district, where the cold weather showed its effect, either froze to death from the cold or died by burning. One of the villages not seen by the state is Nergele Gözpınar village…

 

Invisible part…

 

 Every village we go to in Elbistan opens the door to new suffering. In villages such as Elbistan, which were entered late due to the fact that the village roads were closed, dozens of people lost their closest relatives due to the irresponsibility of the state. The words “The state is not here, we are left alone” also summarize the lack of ownership. In dozens of villages, where even tents were not sent due to the destruction of their houses, people seek shelter from the cold by taking shelter in a Cemevi.

 

Unstoppable tears and laments

 

 A new pain greets us with every step we take. We witness the tears flowing as soon as we get the answer "how can we be" in a quiet tone from the village people we ask about their condition. The despair and loneliness in the eyes when we first enter a makeshift area where dozens of people who have lost their child, grandchild, and brother come together. We feel the loneliness of the people of Nergele, who gathered in a one-story Cemevi where there are no houses far from the village square, and the state of being the other in all our bones.

 

Every touch is a pain

 

 As soon as we enter, the first thing we see is the stove and the women and children gathered around it. They are standing right next to the door as if there will be an earthquake again at any moment. We learn that no one sleeps in the evenings in the beds made of a few blankets that were hastily taken from the houses that were not demolished due to the cold, and that they usually sleep in shifts during the day. The doors of the people, whose doors were constantly knocked during election times, were never knocked on either on the first day of the earthquake or after it. The people of Nergele, who state that they only want to hear the words "How are you" from a single person, pour out their grievances without asking us.

 

Lamenting

 

While chatting with those gathered around the wood stove, we are struck by Ayşe Terzi, who constantly laments and lost her grandchildren and two daughters in Elbistan. Ayşe's mother's house is both on fire and on fire. Ayşe's mother and her husband, who barely escaped from home, have been staying in the Cemevi for 8 days.

 

Daughter and granddaughter pulled themselves out of the rubble

 

 Stating that she called her daughter Perihan Terzi and her two grandchildren in the first earthquake, Hatice Terzi says that Perihan is good for them. Noting that she is happy and that her mother Ayşe is relieved now that the earthquake is over, Hatice hears that her sister and two nieces were under the rubble in the second earthquake. Hatice states that they struggled for four days, but no one came. Stating that her son and brother dug a four-storey building with pickaxes and shovels, Hatice said, “I don't know where our state is, there is none. They couldn't reach it, we tried it ourselves, we reached it on the fourth day, and they all froze to death. Many of our people have gone through neglect.”

 

'So many people died of neglect'

 

Noting that there are no searches and rescue efforts, Hatice said, “Our state is not behind us, this is not normal. Even though so many of our people have left, we still haven't seen the state. It did not even come from the state, except for private aid. There have been aids coming from abroad, aids sent here by the power of the people. They killed people, there is no state here, so many people died from lack of ownership. They send work teams, it's hard for us.”