Living among the ruins of the earthquake in Türkiye a year later

When it rains in Antioquia, the streets fill with mud and huge puddles form on the roads that prevent you from seeing the huge holes in the asphalt, damaged by the earthquake and the movement of trucks and excavators working on the demolition and clearing of debris in the city. . When it doesn't rain, it's worse. The particles of what were once houses, businesses, monuments, float in the environment, covering everything with a layer of dust. The plants and trees that adorned the city take on a grayish tone. There are days when, from the mountains that surround it, it is possible to perceive an artificial cloud floating over the capital of the province of Hatay, the most affected by the earthquake that, one year ago this Tuesday, left more than 60,000 dead and more than three million homeless people in southern Turkey and northern Syria.

“Now with the rains we are better, otherwise the air carries a lot of dust,” complains Baris, a teenager who lives in a container house in a camp created by the Government in Samandag, a town south of Antioquía, at the mouth of the Orontes. There, right where the waters of the river open to the Mediterranean Sea, there is an immense waste dump where the remains of the buildings collapsed during the earthquake and demolished after it have been deposited. They are hills more than 10 meters high, made up of cement rubble, metal rods, pieces of wood and even some articles of clothing. At its summit, caked by the passage of machinery, the remains of old homes are just sand that the gusts of air easily carry away. In the lower part, two excavators and several workers are once again removing the rubble, since the authorities have given them a concession to find metal, which they then sell as scrap metal.

Safety regulations indicate that, before demolishing a building, materials that may contain toxic substances must be removed: asbestos in old roofs and insulation material, lead in pipes, mercury in fluorescent lights and electronic devices… But the affected area by the earthquake is so vast (larger than all of Portugal), the destruction so great (680,000 homes and 170,000 commercial, industrial and agricultural premises) and the need to build new homes so urgent that the authorities have given priority to speed over security.

According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the earthquake has generated 100 million cubic meters of debris, 10 times more than the Haiti earthquake of 2010. And hardly any hoses or irrigation systems are used to manage it—which would reduce the rise of particles into the air—nor do the operators use the mandatory masks, “which poses a risk to public health,” according to a report by the NGO Support to Life.

The Government assures that 91% of the demolitions and debris removal have already been completed, but “the exposure [a materiales peligrosos] “It has not been completed,” complains Sevdar Yilmaz, president of the Hatay Medical College: “The waste is being dumped near water sources, crops, and inhabited areas. As soon as a little wind blows, it will raise dust again.”

During the fall, the Turkish Doctors Union (TTB), together with the Platform for the Right to Clean Air, carried out measurements in various points in the provinces affected by the earthquake (container cities, crop fields, of the localities). In more than a third of the samples collected in Antioch and Kahramanmaras, and in a tenth of those collected in Elbistan and Adiyaman, asbestos was found, a material whose inhalation can cause various lung cancers. “In the medium term, we will see an increase in respiratory diseases and cancers, and the life expectancy of people in the region will be reduced,” says Yilmaz.

Türkiye's garden

The earthquake and debris have not only damaged people's health. The affected provinces are responsible for 20% of Turkey's food production, especially the plain of Hatay province, whose alluvial soils—so dangerous for building buildings—are very fertile for agriculture. “More than a third of the population of these provinces lives from agriculture,” said the UN Agency for Food and Agriculture (FAO): “An initial balance indicates that agriculture has suffered a harsh impact, valued at 1.3 billion dollars in damages [a infraestructura agrícola] and $5.1 billion in losses [por la pérdida de cosechas y el aumento de precios de alimentos que supone]”.

“This year production has been lower, because the earthquake has damaged the wells and aquifers,” says Mehmet, a salesman of salça (tomato paste or concentrated pepper) from the Antioch market. “The olive trees have also produced less, because of the dust,” says Orhan, who sells olives. The production of tobacco and apricots, the main agricultural products of the provinces of Adiyaman and Malatya, respectively, have also been affected by the earthquake.

Further south, in Samandag, citrus production has been overwhelming. And yet, most tangerines rot on trees or on the ground in orchards. “It's ruin,” laments Hussein, a producer. He is offered so little money for the tangerines that he does not pay to pick them. The reason, explains Trifon Yumurta, a local priest, is that the companies that bought from them for export to Russia, Romania and other countries have not appeared this year: “Perhaps they are afraid to come to the earthquake zone.”

The image of trees full of unpicked fruit in Samandag contrasts with the situation in the refugee camps a few dozen kilometers to the north. According to a TTB study, most children do not have access to adequate nutrition in container cities, they consume less fruit and much less meat and fish than recommended. The consequence is that more than 10% of children under two years of age present symptoms of malnutrition, with weights and heights significantly lower than average. This is because, beyond the aid of between 100 and 150 euros per month that they receive from the State, more than half of the families lack regular income and three quarters do not have stable employment, as well as the difficulties in accessing food in a city like Antioquia, where many establishments remain closed.

Skin problems such as scabies and stomach conditions are common in the camps, resulting from overcrowding and the difficulty in maintaining hygiene. The TTB claims to have found E. coli and other potentially harmful bacteria in Antioch's tap water. The central and municipal governments have denied this point, although they have not dared to say clearly whether the city's water can be consumed or not. “Both the earthquake and the work of the excavators and heavy machines have damaged the canalization and sewage systems, and this can cause the mixing of drinking water with sewage,” explains Yilmaz.

The doctors left in the area cannot cope. The health system collapsed during the earthquake and, although three hospitals in Antioquia have been rebuilt, the number of beds available is 1,300, half of what it was before the earthquake. Nor has it been possible to reconstitute primary care: the 66 centers available to the city remain closed and almost half of the medical staff are missing because they died, were injured or have emigrated. “Vacci
nation levels among children have plummeted from 98% to less than half. And what we have long feared has begun to happen: in Kirikhan [otra localidad de la provincia de Hatay] “We have detected an outbreak of Hepatitis A with at least 40 cases,” laments the head of the medical association.

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