'Discrimination in giving aid'
- 14:35 10 February 2023
- News
DÎLOK - Women who stated that they had been outside for days due to the earthquake in Dilok said that they were not helped and that discrimination was made in the aid received.
While thousands of people lost their lives in earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.7 and 7.6, the epicenter of which was the Bazarcix and Elbistan districts of Mereş, search and rescue efforts continue. One of the places affected by the earthquake is Islahiye and Nurdağı districts of Dilok. Many people died here during the earthquake. While the search and rescue efforts continue in the earthquake debris that occurred, the public spends day and night outside with their own means in parks, gas stations, mosques and roadsides. Aid for citizens whose houses were destroyed after the earthquake has not reached many families yet.
The women from Dîlok, who had a hard time staying outside during the earthquake, stated that they were not given aid because they were Kurds.
'They don't go to the wreckage area and pull people out from under the rubble'
Leymon Caymaz, who stated that they were affected by the earthquake and stayed in the park for days, stated that they had been waiting for help for days, that the incoming aid should be cleared and that they wanted those in need to be reached as soon as possible. “Many houses were destroyed in the earthquake. Many people died. The wreckage is still there, people are trapped under it. They go and look at the wreckage, but they don't pull people out from under the rubble. There is no government here, they do not come and remove the bodies. There are many dead people, there are injured people under the rubble, but no one saves them. We do not accept this. We don't know what will be the end of it. We can't reach our relatives who are in prison; we don't know what their situation is. Our children will die of cold because we have been staying in parks and mosques for three days” Leymon said.
They have been waiting for help for days.
Stating that they have been waiting for tents and food aid by staying in the park for days, every number they call says they will bring help, but there has been no return so far, Leymon said that they stayed outside for protection, but this time they could die from the cold. “We didn't get help from anywhere. We will either stay in our homes and die, or die outside in the cold. Since we are Kurds, we are not given aid; aid is given only to Turks. We've been looking for 4 days, we just want a tent, they say they're coming all the time, but they didn't bring it for 4 days. There are aids coming from outside, but we could not reach them because the state seized them as well. We come to the HDP building to be protected from the earthquake, eat there and meet our needs. Everyone should take care of Dilok.”
Do not discriminate
Siyaxan Kuşçi said that they were placed in the industrial zone after the earthquake, but they were not given any help and they were victims due to the weather conditions, and that the aid coming to Dilok was blocked and they were sent to different districts. Siyaxan said, “We are devastated here, we have children and grandchildren, we don't know what to do. They say that there is no debris in Antep, let them come and look here, how many people are victims left outside. Many people said that the Kurds are well deserved, as if only the Kurds live here. There are Turks and Alevis here, how can they think like that? How can they discriminate between Kurds and Turks in such an earthquake? Let them not discriminate, we are all human, we all hurt. All we want is a tent, diapers and food, we don't want anything else."
'Not helping'
Stating that the aid to the region was given only to the Turks, Şadiye Dense said: “If there is an earthquake, our house will be destroyed and we will be miserable together with our children. Even in this case they do half. They discriminate because we are Kurds and they only give aid to them. We cannot enter our homes. It's winter, it's cold, we can't stay outside. We need tents."