Shaking Land

On October 23rd, an earthquake with 7.2 magnitude on Richter scale, hit the Kurdish towns of Van and Erciş, in Southeast Turkey, with a population of near half a million people. More then 650 people perish under the 2.900 buildings that collapsed, according to a ICRC (International Comitte of Red Cross) report. According to the same ICRC report, after damage assessment on the region, 25.750 buildings were severely damaged and were considered inhabitable. The Turkish NGO Red Crescent together with national and international humanitarian help created 15 different camp in the town of Van, providing assistance with Nylon Tents, warm close, hot food and drinks to, what the Turkish Red Crescent claims, were 23.350 beneficiaries.

According to reports by the Turkish Kandilli Observatory of earthquakes, in the two weeks that follow the 29th October more then 1.400 aftershocks, going from 2.8 magnitude to 4.8 richter scale, hit the same population and the same Kurdish area of Turkey, creating the fear, among the local population, of total destruction of Van. Even thou the Earth shaked from 7 to 9 times a day, creating each time the panic among the locals, The Turkish Minister of Environment and Urban Planning, Mr. Erdogan Bayraktar, in a direct appeal to the mainly Kurdish etnie population of Van, claimed no other earthquake would occur in the area, and people could go to their homes in peace, if their buildings have not collapsed.

In the mean time, appeals of help were reaching Van, with a humanitarian Japanese national team arriving to help the search and rescue of survivers, among tents, close, aliments etc, from all over the world. On November 9th, the Japanese humanitarian worker Atsushi Miyazaki and the DHA news agency reporters Cem Emir and Sebahattin Yilmaz, were resting in their hotel rooms when, what the Kandilli Observatory of earthquake activity calls an individual and different earthquake from the original 7.2magnitude one, of 5.6 magnitude demolishes the Hotel Bairam in Van, claiming not only the lifes of the ones previously mentioned by of more then 40 people. Thirty individuals were rescued alive.

The ICRC says more then 150.000 were affected by the earthquakes in Van. The Turkish Red Crescent in a common effort with the Turkish authorities send more help, totalizing now, in more then 46.000 tents. The local Kurdish population claim that with the arrival of the winter, and of snow and -14°C of temperature, the nylon summer tents are not enough. "We simply can not survive in a summer tent surrounded by snow in -14°C" claim the population of Van. We, Kurdish are second class citizens, they claim, at the local stadium transformed in deplaced camp. " First our buildings are not strong enough....then they (the Turkish) send us summer tents to live with the snow and minus 20°C?? the local population manifest.

The population with means of life or family in other parts of Turkey flee this earthquake area of Van. The airport and the bus station do not have available seats out. Dozens of people wait day and night by the bus station for a possible availability to "somewhere else" they say. On November 14th, a 5.2 aftershock of the original 7.2 earthquake, according to Dogan Kalafat, director of the Kandilli Observatory, mede the total number of 12.080 aftershocks from the 23th October.

Until November 22nd, 7 children have died of cold, malnutriction, fire and gas poisoning in the aftermath of the initial earthquake, in the summer tents that were set to shelter the population of Van.

Carlos Palma

Weekend portfolio selected by David Fahey.