A small fire behind some bins keeps them warm. The small family of five sits on the pavement between two private hospitals in Gaziantep, Turkey. They do not dare to sleep at home, there is damage to the house, but they have not yet been given access to another roof over their heads. Turgut and his wife have different ethnic backgrounds, and broke with the family in order to get married. Photo: Julia Thommessen / news The cold settles deep into the marrow as soon as the sun goes down. They sit close together, looking in the rubbish bins for something to burn to keep warm through the night. – If it continues like this, the children will get sick. How long can they put up with this, father of three Turgut Gullu asks himself, holding tight to his youngest son of 1.5 years. The family gets food through food distributions in the city, but it quickly runs out of the most necessary. The night news met them, Gullu could not get hold of a clean nappy for youngest son Turgut, named after dad. It was empty before it was his turn. Hopefully there will be diapers again tomorrow. Over one million have lost their homes There are no figures on how many have become homeless after the most powerful earthquake in several hundred years in Turkey and Syria last week. Local aid organizations estimate that over one million people have lost their homes. In cities such as Gaziantep, which were not as badly hit as the neighboring cities, there are many who do not dare to stay at home. The apartment buildings on the right are empty. In the evening, most apartment buildings in Gaziantep are empty of people. The residents who have not left for safer houses in the countryside live in tents, mosques or on the streets, like Turgut. Photo: Julia Thommessen / news Restaurants are darkened, the shops are locked. The populous city, not far from the Syrian border, has become a ghost town. – Not many buildings here were destroyed in the first quakes, but most were damaged. If there are several strong aftershocks, the damaged buildings will collapse. Most people in this town cannot live at home, says unemployed Gullu. According to the Turkish government’s crisis agency AFAD, more than 155,000 tents have been distributed in the earthquake-affected areas, and aid workers are working hard to distribute more. But in an area where the UN calculates that more than 9 million people have been directly affected by the earthquake, 155,000 is a drop in the ocean. Has no one to ask for help Ambulances and taxis drive past the family. Relatives of earthquake victims rush into the hospitals with heavy blankets in their arms. Someone stops and gives them food or change on the way past. Turgut Gullu broke all ties with his family to marry the one he loved – now they are on the ground. The couple married despite the objections of both families. The wife is Romani while Turgut is Turkish, but they loved each other regardless of ethnicity. Thus, they had to break with the family to get each other. – We don’t feel we have done anything wrong, says the 27-year-old. He adds that he has been married to his wife for 16 years and that he is happy with her. Turgut despairs that there were no more diapers left when he goes to get emergency help today. Photo: Julia Thommessen / news Natural disasters hit those who have nothing before, the hardest, says Margrethe Volden in the Church’s Emergency Service to news. – One would think that a natural disaster affects everyone equally, but the consequences of the disaster are different. The socio-economic situation has a lot to say about how you get out of a natural disaster, she says. Before the earthquake, Gullu was unemployed, collecting plastic and cardboard from rubbish bins in the city to sell. For him, there is no buffer account with which to buy a tent. The family lacked the basics even before the earthquake hit. And no relatives have called to see how they are doing, or to take them in. The young couple stands on bare ground, all alone. Luxury apartments also took part in the collapse. In Turkey, hundreds of contractors have been ordered arrested for having built buildings that were not earthquake-proof. Luxury apartments and modern new buildings have also joined the slide, news and BBC write, among others. But Volden points out that how you cope once you have survived a disaster also depends on socio-economic factors. – It’s all about economics; which areas and buildings you live in, and which resources you have as a person. People with better jobs, income, networks and connections will normally cope better in a crisis, says Volden. The family is huddled together, looking in the rubbish bins for something to burn to keep warm through the night Photo: Julia Thommessen / news Gullu is distraught over the family’s situation: – I don’t know what to do. There must be tents, he says.
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His family sleeps under the open sky after the earthquake – cannot afford a tent – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
