The earthquake on 6 February 2023 with its epicentre in Maraş (Gurgum) province killed countless people. More people died because there was no government help. According to official figures, at least 60,000 people died in Turkey and North Kurdistan alone. However, civil society organizations speak of a much higher number of victims. Many of the dead have not yet been recovered, and the survivors have not received appropriate help even a year after the quake.

Hatay still resembles a ghost town. Most of the earthquake victims have to live far from their homes in container camps that are reminiscent of refugee camps. Many of them even continue to sit in tents and fight for survival. One of these earthquake victims is Fehime Şahin. She has been living in a leaky tent in Samandağ for about a year. In an interview with ANF, she said: "No problem here has been solved, we should not only be remembered one day a year."

Unbearable living conditions in the tent

Şahin said that the earthquake hit her while she was visiting her sister. The house collapsed, and her right wrist was shattered by rubble. She had to have an operation and her joint fixed with metal. She has barely been able to move her hand for a year. Although she had repeatedly requested a container, she has been living in a tent for over a year. The rest of her belongings have been destroyed by rain and flooding. She said she couldn't sleep at night because of the cold. The situation is unbearable.

12 euros per month for field work

Şahin said that she suffers from kidney disease and her right kidney no longer works. She urgently needs an operation, otherwise there is a risk of permanent disability. But her hardest battle is against the cold. Şahin said that she did not receive help from anyone except her brother. "I went to AFAD Civil Protection several times, but they sent me back saying they had no options. My husband, from whom I am divorced, does not pay me maintenance and simply sent me to my hometown so that I had to come to Samandağ to live with my sister. This house was also destroyed in the earthquake. Today I work in a parsley field to earn a living. I pick parsley for 400 TL (about 12 euros) a month. Without my brother I would starve. I owe him a lot."

We have been forgotten

In addition, she receives 1,100 TL family assistance. This corresponds to around 33 euros. Şahin said: "I have no apartment and no money. Who can sleep in a tent like that? When I go to work, dogs and cats come and sleep on my bed. I don't have the heart to chase them away, they are living beings too. In the first month after the earthquake, food and material donations came from parties and organizations, but then we were forgotten. The state wasn't there anyway. A year has passed, but the problems here have not been solved. You shouldn't just remember us just one day a year. Our fight for life here continues despite the difficult conditions."

The state is obliged to help

Şahin continued: "I am a citizen of this country, the state is obliged to help me. We were abandoned after the earthquake and now we are being threatened that if we don’t vote for the governing parties we won’t get any help. I'm hungry. I have no home, no shelter. Which election, which votes are we talking about here? Emine Erdoğan has always said that no woman should be a victim. Where is her promise gone? She should fear God. I work despite everything. The doctor told me not to work because of my hand, but I have to work. Despite the pain in my hand and the pain in my kidneys, I go to the field every day and work for a miserable wage. My hand swells every time I work, but I have to work. They give me an allowance of 1,100 liras. What should I buy with this money? Do you know how much a kilo of meat costs? I can't even buy clothes for myself, I have to make do with the things people bring to help me. Is that a life? My psychological health also deteriorated after the earthquake. I need a roof over my head, they should give me a room, a container. I have a right to live like a human being."