Antakya is the name of a love that will never fade

A culture of life, kneaded with the dough of thousands of years, would draw you in. It would surprise you with a different wonder every time.

The sounds of the adhan and church bells were together. “Difference” was seen as a richness and lived as a richness.

Their weddings and holidays were never-ending. No matter which religion or ethnic background they belonged to, the people of Antakya always celebrated Ramadan, Easter, Hanukkah, Christmas, Rosh Hashanah, and Yom Kippur together. The holidays of Antakya, the cradle of civilizations, never ended.

And their weddings…

Until… February 6th…

February 6th and beyond is a huge void!

This is such a pain that imagine a vast, endless cemetery where everyone’s death anniversary is the same. The great destruction opened deep wounds in our hearts and in our memory. I lost my friends; I lost the city I was in love with.

My friends lost their families, their neighbors, their streets, their avenues, their neighborhoods, and their hometowns.

Even though 2 years have passed, the pain of the great destruction is just as it was on the first day.

The deep wound is not healing.

According to official statements, we lost 54 thousand of our people in the earthquake that devastated our 11 cities. How many of those in positions of responsibility resigned?

I was in Antakya in October. It has turned into a giant construction site. Heavy machinery was working 24/7. On one side, a giant construction site; on the other, lives continuing in 21 m² containers.

Two times 365 days have passed: Most of the people of Antakya are still living a difficult life in containers.

The city is covered in a cloud of dust rising from the construction site, and children are playing in that cloud of dust on muddy streets.

The biggest problem is the power outages that last 8-9 and sometimes 12 hours. Not having electricity means not being able to heat up, not being able to cook, water cuts, internet outages, and facing security problems.

The second biggest problem is access to healthcare services. They want the shortage of specialized doctors in the state hospital to be resolved.

Pain has no religion or sect. The language of pain is always the same where it hurts.

Every time I came to Antakya, I would stop by my friend Miguel’s antique shop. Miguel would tell the history of the ancient city through the stories of the rare pieces he found and brought to light from the past. In one of our cheerful conversations, Miguel had said, “Antakya was destroyed 7 times, and 7 times it was reborn from its ashes.”

Unfortunately, Antakya was destroyed for the 8th time. My friend Miguel and his wife waited under the rubble for 3 days to be rescued… Just like many of our people who waited for days to be rescued under the rubble… I wish mercy for the souls we lost and great patience for their families.

Two times 365 days have passed. The pain is not forgotten. Let the negligence not be forgotten either. The population in our 11 provinces hit by the earthquake has decreased by 220 thousand.

Now, a major earthquake awaits Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, where 16 million people live.

Prof. Dr. Naci Görür states that the destruction will be massive and that 4 million people will face death.

Hatay, which had a population of 2 million before the earthquake, could not get back on its feet in 2 years.

In how many years will Istanbul get back on its feet?

Turkey’s earthquake history is a history full of pain. Why can’t we achieve what Japan has achieved?

Why can’t a disaster ministry be established yet?

Why is a total mobilization not declared? Why does it not occur to anyone to put all of Turkey, from Istanbul to Antalya, from Bursa to Adana, from Izmir to Tunceli, through urban transformation?