The 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the southeast of Turkey on February 6th, 2023, changed many people’s lives, including Kamile’s. She used to live in Ovakent and had just finished secondary school. Now, she lives with her family and wants to marry but cannot yet due to economic problems.
«When the earthquake destroyed our house, we set up a tent here. AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency is a governmental disaster management agency operating under the Turkish Ministry of Interior) gave us a tent. There is also a container. We are a group of six people living here. I have siblings who are 7, 6 and 3 years old. Our father has passed away.»
Aid came promptly after the disaster, but it could not reach every family. «Our neighbours gave us a heater, thank God. We pulled some blankets and pillows out of the wreckage of our own home. Our clothes, all our belongings, we lost everything in the earthquake.»
Kamile has a hernia in her lower back, and she is no longer able to work. «I was working before the earthquake. I used to work for my friend Habibe, as a textile worker, but after my father’s death, I couldn’t go to work. No one in my family works. My father had a pension, but it was all cut off when he passed away. We don’t have any money anymore.»
The future became uncertain. «Before the earthquake, we used to live in a proper house. But now we have lost everything. My mother is sick, and the cold temperature worsens her health. My father was ill before, and now he is dead.»
Even in the darkest hour, a spark of hope shines: «Caritas gave us diapers and a wheelchair. Some friends of ours helped us providing food, shoes, and clothes.»