Riza Atahan, from the southern Turkish province of Hatay, put his wife and daughter on a bus that took them to safety 300 km (186 miles) away, then returned to their quake-damaged home to guard their belongings.
“I don’t have too many expectations from this life, but the lives of our children are important,” he said, as his family moved into a student hostel – emergency accommodation arranged by the government. They hope to get rid of the chaos and hardship that Hate will face in the coming months.
They have joined more than 158,000 people who have evacuated vast areas of southern Turkey devastated by the earthquake, according to government figures. Even more people fled in panic in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, traffic chaotic as they searched for walkable roads.
One of the deadliest earthquakes in Turkey’s modern history has killed more than 37,000 people in Turkey and Syria. Rescuers worked through the night to rescue people buried under the rubble eight days later, but on Tuesday the hope of many more survivors was looking bleak.
Hundreds of residents are leaving the remote province daily, unsure whether they will be able to return. They gather on a piece of land by the side of the main road leading into Antakya.
Security officers take names and ask them where they want to go, then assign them to buses that take them throughout Turkish provinces, from Istanbul, a 12-hour drive northwest, to a 12-hour drive east near the border. Drive on to Hakkari in Iraq.
‘We will not return’
Hamza Bekri, 22, a Syrian originally from Idlib who has lived in Hatay for 12 years, said he was on his way west to Isparta in southern Turkey.
“Our house completely collapsed. Many of our relatives died, are still under the rubble. My family went to Isparta, I am going there too, we will not turn back.”
“It’s very difficult… We’ll start from zero, without belongings, without jobs.”
Fatma Yetir has been living in a car since the earthquake.
“We don’t have water, electricity. We are miserable. We are shaken and tired. We are thinking of going to Ankara. My son is there, working in a hospital. We will stay there for a while “
However, Atahan will not leave Antakya, even though the earthquake has hit the walls of his house, leaving it unprotected.
“I will be here to protect my house, belongings, savings accumulated over 30 years,” he said.
“I will not leave my hometown. I sent my child away so that they can be saved. I am from here. I love my city, I will not leave even if it takes 3-4 years to rebuild. “
As night falls on Antyakya, the mass exodus of the past week becomes apparent. A business district appears mostly empty, with soldiers and police patrolling the street with flashlights to provide security and look for looters.
Dust fills the night air as excavators begin demolishing heavily damaged buildings and clearing debris. The blue lights of ambulances illuminate the black streets that are still without electricity and the smell of smoke fills the streets.
“God bless those who are helping us. We hope the situation will get better, but God knows,” said resident Ergin Yitir, as he got ready to leave.
Asked when he thought he might make a comeback, he said, “It’s in the hands of luck.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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