Earthquake survivor's relative recounts: 'It wasn't the earthquake that killed the mother and her cancer-stricken daughter, but the cold'

A relative of a family affected by the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes has alleged that a mother and her cancer-stricken daughter, who survived the earthquake unharmed, were forced out of the building where they had taken shelter because 'political guests were coming,' and subsequently lost their lives due to the extreme cold they were exposed to.

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Earthquake survivor's relative recounts: 'It wasn't the earthquake that killed the mother and her cancer-stricken daughter, but the cold'

Exactly 8 months have passed since the February 6 earthquakes that shook Turkey. However, the impact of the negligence, grievances, and lack of planning that go hand-in-hand with the devastating effects of the disaster still persists. According to a relative of an earthquake victim in the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquake, a mother and her cancer-stricken daughter who survived the earthquake lost their lives due to the cold weather they were exposed to at the school where they had been placed.

Z.Ç., who recounted the tragic event experienced by mother Meziyet Çırak and her daughter Zeynep Fedakar, who lived in Kahramanmaraş, described what the family went through during the earthquake with the following words:

‘’77-year-old Meziyet Çırak and her cancer-stricken 48-year-old daughter Zeynep Fedakar, who lived in Kahramanmaraş, took shelter in the building belonging to the Directorate of Family and Social Services across the street on the day of the earthquake when their house was damaged. There were other families who took shelter in the building with them; the building was packed. Later, they emptied the building saying 'political guests will come to the region' and threw the earthquake victims out. We don't know who stayed there, but the reason given was the visit of President Erdoğan and Süleyman Soylu to the region. After leaving there, the family stayed in two different schools. Meziyet Çırak, with whom I was in contact at the time, was constantly complaining, saying 'we are freezing, we are shivering here.' The radiators in the school were not working, and the mother and daughter had to stay there for 15-20 days. We were in constant dialogue with the family, and they could not leave the city because their relatives were also there. Later, she expressed many times that they had fallen ill and 'could not recover because they were so cold there.'’’

''DIAGNOSED WITH PNEUMONIA''

The family's relative, Z.Ç., stated, ‘’First, it was diagnosed that mother Meziyet Çırak's kidneys were retaining water after the earthquake. Later, she had a heart attack and passed away on September 17 at Kahramanmaraş Yörük Selim Hospital. Her daughter Zeynep Fedakar, who was an advanced-stage cancer patient, was diagnosed with pneumonia immediately after the earthquake and died on August 6 due to pneumonia’’.

News Source: Kardelen İnce