Earthquake is 'real tragedy' says Offaly-based Turkish journalist

A TURKISH journalist who has been living in Tullamore for the last three years has said people are freezing to death in his home country as a result of the earthquakes.

Cagdas Gokbel, member of both the National Union of Journalists and Irish PEN, has criticised the response of the government in Turkey to what he says is a “great earthquake disaster”.

“Scientists in Turkey had said that this earthquake would come three years ago. Unfortunately, the Erdogan administration is an administration that does not want to hear the voice of science,” said Mr Gokbel.

“The epicentre of the earthquake is Kahramanmaraş. Unfortunately, it was the earthquakes that took place one after the other that increased the effect of the destruction.”

He said there is “great destruction” with scientists in Turkey estimating that 12 million people in 10 cities were affected.

“It is not known exactly how many people remain under the rubble at the moment, but an estimated 8,000 people were rescued. I think the numbers will increase exponentially and we will face a great tragedy.”

He said search and rescue teams are completely inadequate: “I learn from my colleagues in Turkey that people freeze to death. Can you imagine, people are making calls for help on social media and sharing the home addresses of their loved ones. Many of my journalist colleagues' families are in ruins and they can't do anything.”

He added: “The Erdogan government was completely incapable of organising emergency aid. People in the earthquake area are very angry and the media in Turkey is doing their best not to show these reactions.

“Blankets and food aid were not delivered to the survivors of the earthquake. A real tragedy is taking place above and below ground in Turkey right now. Opposition parties are trying to organise solidarity in this terrible picture. People try to send their aid to these organisations because they do not trust the government.

“There is a rotten government in Turkey and people do not trust this government. I ask the readers to set aside their political prejudices. Currently, the Communist Party of Turkey is trying to organise solidarity in Turkey with other opposition parties.”

Mr Gokbel (pictured below during a broadcast media interview from Tullamore recently) said the delivery of aid must now be the priority.

“People in Turkey demanded that the military respond to the earthquake immediately, but the Erdogan government ignored these calls. Unfortunately, as the critical hours passed and people were dying under the rubble, they started to do something new.

“In all these bad things, there are really good things going on. I would like to draw the attention of the Irish people on this issue. Greek search and rescue teams rescued a six-year-old girl in Hatay, who had been waiting for help for hours. They were crying when the Greek teams rescued the girl.

“Whatever the politicians in Greece and Turkey may say, we are brotherly peoples and we see this brotherhood with our own eyes today. Finally, I would like to say this. In Turkey, the Erdogan regime did not extend a helping hand to the people. People survived because of their own solidarity.”

Mr Gokbel also referred to the impact of the earthquake in neighbouring Syria: “There is no electricity, clean water and medicine in Syria. The reason for this is the embargo imposed by the USA and the European Union. A war-ravaged country is now battling an earthquake. There is a humanitarian crisis here. This inhuman embargo needs to be ended as soon as possible so that vital supplies can be delivered to the Syrian people.”

He concluded by thanking the Irish people: “Many of my Irish friends in Tullamore and even my Irish friends in Dublin showed solidarity. The Irish have a really beautiful heart. I really love the history of Ireland and this beautiful face. The Irish are people of great heart and conscience. Even Marian Hostel staff came up to us and asked about our situation.”

The first earthquake early on Monday morning measured 7.8 on the Richter scale and it was followed by one of 7.5.

By Tuesday afternoon it was estimated that over 6,000 people had been killed and the BBC reported that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a three-month state of emergency in 10 provinces worst-affected by the earthquake.