Paylaş
A year has passed since the February 6 earthquakes. Besides what we saw in the earthquake, there are things we couldn’t see. The families of the lost faces of the earthquake, whose voices I don’t believe were heard or announced enough. Among them are those who are looking for their child, grandchild, as well as those who are looking for their sibling, father.
Selahattin Kılınç from Hatay is looking for his son, daughter-in-law, and grandchild. Suna Öztürk from Aksaray is looking for her 36-year-old daughter and two grandchildren, aged 3 years and 8 months. Again, Abbas Köse from Hatay is looking for his son, daughter-in-law, and grandchild.
“where Did our Children Go?”
I don’t know where to start, so I want you to tell me, where would you like to start?
Selahattin Kılınç: We searched the wreckage three times, not even a single bone was found. Not found. Where did our children go? Can’t even a single bone be found from a wreckage that has been turned over three times?
We rescued 8-10 people from there. A white minibus loaded about 14-15 people and took them away. Where are the people who went to the hospitals? Where did they disappear to? Where are these people, can people just disappear in the hospital? But unfortunately, they do.
Suna Öztürk: They didn’t search our wreckage properly anyway. Fifteen burned bodies passed before my eyes. I looked at some of them. They had made a place there, the person who identified their own body would take it and leave, I said to the forensic medicine kids, ”Open the bags and let me see. Maybe I’ll recognize them if the babies’ or my daughter’s clothes are stuck on them.” People were left in very small pieces. The officer kid said, ”Aunt, what clothes are you talking about, there’s nothing left here.”
“there is No Such Thing as Disappeared”
At first, they were searching nicely, with night vision lamps with the acute. Afterwards, they told us, ”An order came from above. The wreckage of Rönesans Residence is being shown too much on television, this wreckage needs to be removed as soon as possible.” Then they stopped searching. Then they had a meeting, they brought big projectors, they worked 7/24 in shifts. They stopped searching. These children went with the wreckage.
If 53 people are missing here, and 10-15 people were taken out, where are the rest of these people? In the rubble! That rubble should be scanned, people will come out of that rubble too. Because they didn’t search! They directly loaded the rubble onto trucks.
I absolutely do not accept the state’s disregard, looking at them as if they were burned. This state will say to me, even if it’s just the tip of its nail, ”This is your child.”
They will say, ‘We did the DNA test.’ Then I will stop searching. Did one burn, did two burn, did all three of my children burn? Where did my three children go? I want this too, let them search and find them! Just like they destroyed them, they will search in that rubble without searching, just like they removed that rubble, they will give me even a piece of my child from that rubble. I can’t stay at home, it’s cold outside, is their dead body or alive body staying in that rubble? This pain is not as you know it.
Abbas Köse: My missing people were in İlke Apartment. We waited there every day for the first week. They didn’t come out of the wreckage. Did they get scattered in the earthquake and go somewhere, were they taken somewhere? Or who took them? We have been after this for a year, we have fifty questions in our heads every evening and morning. Where did our children go? They are not in the hospital, they are not outside. We gave a DNA test, it doesn’t match.
We gave samples for testing from three places, my wife gave, my daughter-in-law’s mother and father gave, there is no match from any place. Where did these children of ours go? Did the ground split open and our children went into the ground, I don’t understand. Where did our children go? We can’t find a trace from anywhere.
“the Works Were Stopped Unfortunately”
You also gave a DNA test, didn’t you?
Selahattin Kılınç: Yes, I gave it too, my in-laws too, but there is no result. My missing people are in İlke Apartment. We have 8 children and 20 adults missing in that building.
But I know there are two more people, they are outside the list. What is said from forensic medicine is this ”DNA study is not being done for Hatay yet, it is being kept waiting.” Why is it being kept waiting? ”We are order takers, let them give us an order so we can work.” Those who came out at first. It was worked until May June, those who matched came out, then it was stopped. There is no work until today. There is no work until today, unfortunately.
Is there any harm in me conveying this?
No, there isn’t, write it. This is what is said from Forensic Medicine, ”We haven’t done any work for Hatay yet, we can’t do it. It is being kept waiting. Why? ‘We don’t know. Let the order come, we will work,’ they said to me.
Suna Öztürk: We gave a sample but there is no result. There is no finding from any of the 53 people in Rönesans Residence.
I want to tell something, AFAD has 6 thousand personnel in general in Turkey. There was an earthquake in 11 provinces, where will these 6 thousand people reach? Miner children entered the wreckage of Rönesans Residence. They said to the people, collect tree logs from the surrounding wreckage, we will make a pig tunnel under the building.
They said we will go from bottom to top. The children did it, they were just about to enter, whoever gave that order above, I swear those miner children came out crying.
They knelt at the bottom of the truck, they cried. They said let’s at least save a few bodies even if there are no living people, they didn’t allow that either. Where will 6 thousand AFAD personnel reach in this country? Volunteer children came by bus, AKUT members didn’t let them in either. They were going to get permission from Minister Süleyman Soylu at three in the night.
“My brother, the minister is sleeping in his bed, let the children enter,” I said, but who listened! We can hear the voices of our neighbor’s two daughters at our feet. The children entered to rescue, they took them out too. Two days later, those two sisters came out embracing each other, lifeless bodies. Who will give the sin of these? As a human, I do not forgive the rights of any of them. May Allah ask them.
“‘Let Them Find a Nail, Let Them Find a Bone, but Let Them Find it'”
It will be a difficult question to ask but… A year is passing over the missing people and according to the law, a decision of absence is issued after a year. What will you do if this decision is issued?
Suna Öztürk: My son-in-law took out the death certificate. He had to take it out because my children were taking care of me. My son-in-law said to me, ”Let me take this out so that a salary can be tied to you from Tuğba.” But even if my son-in-law took this out, I am after my children, I will still search.
Even if they take this out or not, they will give this decision of absence even if we object after February 6. I didn’t accept it, you didn’t accept it, the other one will accept it. There are children left orphaned at home, widowed, mothers who live by getting help from their children. They have to live to not be in need of anyone, to live.
Selahattin Kılınç: We will not accept it. We will make all the necessary objections.
Abbas Köse: We are not thinking about anything related to the document of absence. We want our children to be found. If this decision is issued for our children, we will make the necessary objection. We want our children to be found. Let them find a nail, let them find a bone, but let them find it.
Actually, we are talking here for nothing. The state will find it if it wants to. A motion was given in the parliament, it was rejected by the votes of AKP-MHP. No one thinks about us. They are people who think about their own interests, their own seats.
Look, I met with Süleyman Soylu one-on-one in the Disaster Management Directorate in Antakya, Soylu is passing the buck to the governor, Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca passed the buck to the Governor of Denizli. I met, what happened? My dear governor says take care of it, he says take care of whatever problem the citizen has, he gets in his car and disappears. Are they going to go crazy with your problem, what are they going to do? These are empty for those men. This state doesn’t look after us! Be patient, the DNA will match, be patient, the DNA will match! 12 months have passed, there is still no movement, there is still no light, no road. We can’t go one step forward.
Suna Öztürk: Hulusi Akar did the same to me here. When he came to Aksaray, I went to his side with the poster with the photos of the missing people. He said to me, ‘Let the Governor take care of you,’ he got in the car and left.
Did you apply to the cemetery for the unknown?
Selahattin Kılınç: I went two days ago. They don’t say anything either, most likely a ban has been placed on them too. There are many graves whose names are not written, some are only given a number. There are many.
Suna Öztürk: My son-in-law applied but that place is so big that the beginning and end of the cemetery cannot be seen. It is impossible to have so many people’s graves opened and their DNA taken in such a short time as 1 year. I think the DNAs to be taken from there will take 3-5 years.
There is also this, after the decision of absence is issued about my children, the state will ask me for twenty thousand liras for the search of my children in the cemetery for the unknown. I don’t have that power either. Again, my children will remain in that cemetery for the ownerless.
Let them ask for support from abroad regarding this DNA matching process. Let them at least alleviate the pain of these 147 people as soon as possible. I think the missing people are more than 147. A woman has lost her 8 daughters but she doesn’t want to appear on television, she says she wants to live in her house because she wants to give her photo, her pain.
I want DNA matching to be done with those who died if there are any unknown people lying in hospitals all over Turkey after February 6. Someone will definitely come out of those places too.
We went to the parliament for the motion, we went to Hüseyin Yayman’s side, there are so many missing people from Rönesans Residence, from İlke apartment, with the other missing families, are there so many missing people there, who are you blaming? He said to us, leave the missing people of Rönesans Residence aside. That place burned down and turned to ashes, close that place, look elsewhere, he said to us. Is this something that will happen?
Did you encounter any obstacles while searching for your missing people?
Suna Öztürk: No, I didn’t encounter any. They only took the petitions I gave, they said wait, we will let you know.
Selahattin Kılınç: I didn’t encounter any obstacles but there is no answer. We want graves to be opened as soon as possible, DNA matching to be done, hospitals, care homes to be investigated. This is what we want, let these be done as soon as possible.
Abbas Köse: We didn’t encounter any but we can’t get results. We gave a petition and in the end there is no answer. We can’t get an answer from anywhere, this is our problem.
”if it is the Tip of the Nail, if it is the Strand of Hair, I Want it.”
What are you going to do for the future?
Selahattin Kılınç: I will continue with the association. I couldn’t get results from whichever door I went to individually. Maybe we will get a result if we continue with the association. If all the missing families apply to this association, if we walk together in one place, we will make our voice heard louder.
Abbas Köse: We will continue with the association. We went individually for so long, we couldn’t do anything. We will try to make our voice heard with the association.
Suna Öztürk: I will continue to search for my children with the association. Even if I don’t eat bread, food for days, months, I have to stand up to find my children. My son, my grandchild, my daughter-in-law are with me… I have to stand up for them, I have to stand up to find my children so that I can do my struggle completely.
They dumped the wreckage of Rönesans Residence in a secret place, we found that place too. I will go to the place where that wreckage is, I will make a press statement there too.
If an answer still doesn’t come, I will continue searching. Even if it doesn’t happen anymore, we will go to the parliament and pour gasoline over our heads. Let them find my child! If it is the tip of the nail, if it is the strand of hair, I want it. They will find it just like they destroyed it.
Gülbin Çakmak
