Four days after an earthquake with more than 20,000 lives lost, life remains unbearable and painful for the Turkish people all over the world.
Donation convoys from major US cities to London, Paris, Berlin and many more show the solidarity that lies within Turkish culture and the strong sense of community that is indestructible despite geographical distances.
It is impossible not to mention the organised efforts of those within the country's borders. Schools are indefinitely closed down, and all modes of transport only flow towards one way: Southeast Turkey.
Turkish people worldwide care so much that it brings tears to their eyes and they are unable to move on with daily life. Many say they won’t give up until they make everyone care.
Why do we, Turkish people, need to bang heads against walls to bring attention to this disaster more monstrous than the country has ever seen in the last two decades?
This question remains valid for all Middle-Eastern identifying nations and cultures, who have long suffered political indifference and apathy from the West. The persistent effort to make our peers care, at this time of great despair, is stronger than ever.
Identifying some key factors that play into the current state of backlash towards indifferent entities is crucial.
The roots of this emotional and social rebellion come from a nation that has been long ignored, mistreated and devalued by their own government. After a tragedy, this destructive, feelings of long-lost abandonment and social, political and judicial mistreatment from government bodies come out in the form of anger. This anger is directed to other communities that have stable governments and stable life standards, very different to those living in the Middle East.
Essentially, Turkish people are a stray community who are waiting for empathy and well-deserved help from other communities who are known to be well-off. In a situation where their own government have left them without hope, the only glimpse of a possible hope is found within those who live in the West, where governments usually take care of their people.
This is almost a reflex, or a trauma response to seek understanding and empathy in other spaces when you can’t find it yourself. The anger of the people is urging them to fight for recognition and for a platform for awareness.
This cry for help means that the Turkish government failed to provide a safe and stable space for its people to seek refuge.
After an earthquake so destructive, who knows what and how hard the next hit can be? Will the people have anything or anyone to rely on?
Only one thing is certain: this government and certainly the Turkish people are not capable of taking a second hit.
To shift the perspective, the lacking prevention measures and preparations can’t be ruled out as to why Turkish people are begging for recognition. Recent stats from Turkish Statistical Institution (TUIK) show that more than 45% per cent of all damaged buildings in affected regions have been built after 2001 when the current government first gained power. Standing buildings are known to be built beforehand, or have gone through the correct inspections during their construction.
Huge backlash on Twitter came about in the first two days of the earthquake aftermath, about the lack of rescue teams in operation. Many journalists and earthquake victims reported that the city of Hatay was a ghost town for two straight days, as the voice of victims under collapsed buildings echoed through empty streets. Many rescue teams from foreign countries flew in for support, as the general opinion on Twitter seemed to be that Turkish rescue teams were low in numbers and couldn’t reach all regions.
Experts couldn’t help but point out the lack of preparation and planning by the government. For a country that is heavily earthquake-prone, it is said that the loss of lives would be fewer with more precautions taken.
Following the lacking prevention measures, the recent Twitter restrictions in Turkey to stop news flow could be identified as the last straw in terms of tolerating neglect.
As the restriction was put into action, the news flow between independent journalists and the people in affected regions (and also the whole country) faced major disruptions. Important information was being banned for the sake of controlling public opinion.
Let’s also not forget why Twitter is such a critical news tool in Turkey, more than it is in Western states. To sum up what the current Turkish media climate is like: Turkey is number 149 out of 180 in the free press index published by Reporters Without Borders.
Now, what can be greater neglect than refusing to circulate information that could save lives?
The outright neglect to save human lives is deeply offensive to Turkish people and they want international recognition of the current state they live in.
To broaden the scale to a larger phenomenon, all lives in the Middle East are part of this neglect that has deep roots in years of colonialism and discrimination. Previous and ongoing conflicts such as the Yemen War, Syrian Civil War and Israel-Palestine conflict all hold common characteristics that can also be identified within the current earthquake disaster.
And that is: Middle Eastern lives are certainly easier to lose than Western ones and neglecting those who are further away is easier than talking about what’s happening next door.
After taking in all the neglect and mistreatment, a fight has begun for the Turkish people to seek recognition and possibly find justice in places other than their homes.
Whether it be years of struggle and political chaos or witnessing preventable losses, this is a fight much bigger than a natural disaster. The Turkish people are fighting for what could be a turning point in their destiny, and all it needs is a glimpse of recognition for their fight and for what they have gone through.
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