– Where is the state? Where are they? I can’t get my brother out of the ruins. I can’t get hold of my nephew. Look around here, There is no one from the authorities here, shouts a despairing Ali Sagiroglu in the Turkish city of Kahramanmaraş. Sagiroglu’s brother and father have disappeared in the rock masses, writes AFP. The destruction is enormous in Kahramanmaraş. Eight apartment blocks of over ten floors have completely collapsed. It is estimated that around 150 people lived in each of the eight blocks. As they crashed together in the middle of the night, very few made it out alive. In the affected areas of Turkey, dead people lie on the street waiting to be collected. Photo: UMIT BEKTAS / Reuters Heard cries for help Ali Sagiroglu is far from alone in yelling at the authorities. AFP writes that in many places it is local residents who are responsible for the rescue work, without help from the state. – Yesterday (Monday) we could hear many people shouting for help from inside the ruins, but today it is quiet. They must have died from the cold, says a man in his 40s to AFP. Cuma Yildiz, a man in his 60s, accuses the authorities of not caring. – Where are they now? They don’t care, they have no compassion, he says. Aerial photos from Kahramanmaras show enormous destruction. Photo: STRINGER / Reuters The police had to intervene In the big city of Gaziantep, which is close to the epicenter of the first quake, people are just as angry. Although every minute counts to save lives, it took over 12 hours for rescuers to arrive, writes AFP: Residents tell AFP that when rescuers finally arrived, they only worked for a few hours before stopping for the night. – People rioted on Tuesday morning. The police had to intervene, says 61-year-old Celal Deniz. His brother and nephew lie under the rock masses. “Earthquake tax” Turkey is located in an area with many earthquakes. After the great earthquake in Izmit in 1999, in which at least 17,000 people died, an additional tax was introduced. The tax was called an “earthquake tax” and was supposed to go to prevent disasters and rescue teams. In the years since 1999, the tax has brought in around NOK 50 billion to the treasury, but it is unclear how the money has been used. – Where has all the tax that has been collected since 1999 gone? asks Celal Deniz. Rescue crews from several countries At the same time, rescue workers from several countries have started arriving in the affected areas. 82 people from China landed on Wednesday morning at the airport in Adana, writes Reuters. They have 20 tonnes of medical and other equipment with them, as well as four rescue dogs. China is only one of over 20 countries that have sent rescue teams to Turkey.
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Anger grows in Turkey over lack of rescue workers – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
