Ahmet Çankaya, who lives in the village of Osmandede in Pazarcık in the province of Maraş and whose house was destroyed in the earthquake on 6 February, said that they would not leave the land where they were born and raised no matter what.

He said that 20 out of 40 buildings in their village were destroyed, while the rest are damaged. The earthquake survivor said that four people, two of them Syrians, lost their lives in the village. “We have fields here. Our work is here. That's why we can't go anywhere. This is the land where we were born and raised. We can't leave this place."

Çankaya said that they did not receive any help from the state, but the people offered support, and added: “We lived thanks to the aid given by civil society associations and people. As villagers, we help each other. The state did not even come to remove the debris. We don't know what will happen. We wouldn't have been able to endure the cold but for the help of the people who also sent food and drinks.”