Wildfires reopen earthquake wounds in Turkiye’s shattered Hatay province
Recent wildfires have torn through southeastern Turkiye’s Hatay, still recovering from a February 2023 earthquake.
![Adile Yetkin, left, Hasan Yetkin, right, and their son, Muhammet, 15, in their container home in Adiyaman. Both Adile and Hasan lost legs in the earthquake, and their eldest son was killed [Alaeddin Cogal/Al Jazeera]](/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Adile-Yetkin-left-Hasan-Yetkin-right-and-their-son-Muhammet-sit-in-their-container-home-in-Adiyaman-Alaettin-CogalAl-Jazeera-1707207860.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
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In Turkey’s Gaziantep, weddings are dispelling some post-earthquake sadness
In the lively wedding district, celebrations are cautiously starting up again as couples start their futures together.
Hundreds of survivors gather below Adiyaman's clock tower. The town's clock became an iconic symbol of the earthquake, as its watch hands were left frozen at 4:17am for days. [Mustafa Kara Ali/Al Jazeera]
A large sign displaying 4:17am, the exact time of the tragic moment, stands in front of a funeral wreath for the victims. Attendants have left letters to their lost loved ones, as well as flowers. [Mustafa Kara Ali/Al Jazeera]
Participants chant and shout, demanding justice for their families, as they march and approach the gathering point under the clock tower. [Mustafa Kara Ali/Al Jazeera]
A moment of prayer to mourn the more than 50,000 victims of the Turkey-Syria earthquake. [Mustafa Kara Ali/Al Jazeera]
A survivor cries in desperation, holding the photo of her lost loved one, while being consoled by a relative and volunteers from Dayanisma Insanlari Dernegi, a civil society organisation coordinating humanitarian aid cooperation in the disaster area. [Mustafa Kara Ali/Al Jazeera]
Survivors holding '4:17am' placards gather for a candlelight vigil in Adiyaman's main square and leave flowers while observing a moment of silence to honour the victims. [Mustafa Kara Ali/Al Jazeera]
An empty poster for people to write their memories, names of lost loved ones and thoughts, is displayed in Adiyaman's main square. [Mustafa Kara Ali/Al Jazeera]
Hundreds of survivors and volunteers gather near Adiyaman's clock tower to remember the more than 8,000 victims of the earthquake in the city, the third hardest-hit province by the two-fold earthquakes on February 6, 2024. [Mustafa Kara Ali/Al Jazeera]
In Adiyaman, where 1,200 buildings collapsed on February 6, 2023, reconstruction is slow, with many buildings still bearing the scars of the two-folded earthquake and leaving many still displaced in temporary shelters a year on from the tragedy. [Mustafa Kara Ali/Al Jazeera]
Dayanisma Insanlari Dernegi volunteers plant trees at 7am, after wrapping up the memorial ceremony, as a way to celebrate hope and rebirth on this land after so much death and destruction. Black and white balloons indicate where trees will be planted. [Mustafa Kara Ali/Al Jazeera]
Mehmet Yilmaz, one of the heads of Dayanisma Insanlari Dernegi, stands where 100 trees were planted at 7am. The land is a very powerful element in this strongly agricultural city, where most of its residents are originally from nearby villages, deeply affected by the quakes. [Mustafa Kara Ali/Al Jazeera]
Candles extinguished after a night of commemoration stand on the ground beside posters saying 'Our common cause'. The memorial to remember the thousands of victims was particularly heartfelt in Adiyaman, one of the worst-hit provinces, where the tragedy created stronger bonds. [Mustafa Kara Ali/Al Jazeera]
Volunteers from Dayanisma Insanlari Dernegi plant trees as a symbolic gesture of rebirth. [Mustafa Kara Ali/Al Jazeera]
In Adiyaman, where rescue and aid operations were slower than any other province, local solidarity efforts gave life to grassroot initiatives to allow survivors help each other more efficiently. [Mustafa Kara Ali/Al Jazeera]
Berfin Kilic, third from the right on the first row, moved from Sanliurfa to Adiyaman a year ago to volunteer at Dayanisma Insanlari. [Mustafa Kara Ali/Al Jazeera]
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From: NewsFeed
Protesters scuffle with Turkish police on earthquake anniversary
Protesters’ anger spilled over at a vigil in Turkey to mark one year since devastating earthquakes.
Published On 6 Feb 2024
An aerial view of the tightly packed container site. Many residents have fixed tarpaulin to the roofs of their containers for extra protection from the elements and as added insulation. [Alaeddin Cogal/Al Jazeera]
Central Besni lies behind the container city. [Alaeddin Cogal/Al Jazeera]
A vista of the mountains offers some relief from the narrow streets and tiny containers. [Patrick Keddie/Al Jazeera]
Many people in the container site cannot afford to leave, but it may only be available for another 18 months or so. [Alaeddin Cogal/Al Jazeera]
After the earthquakes on February 6, 2023, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised that all affected buildings would be rebuilt within a year. [Patrick Keddie/Al Jazeera]
The container site has two playground areas. Many children struggle to access education in the earthquake zone, but the Besni container site is close to a school. [Patrick Keddie/Al Jazeera]
The container site in Besni houses some 1,200 people in about 300 containers. [Patrick Keddie/Al Jazeera]
Turkey's government-backed housing agency TOKI is building homes for earthquake survivors on the outskirts of Besni. [Alaeddin Cogal/Al Jazeera]
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It’s been a year since the earthquake and Syrians feel forgotten once again
Since the earthquake, humanitarian needs have gone up in Syria, but aid has dwindled.
Anger as Turkey marks anniversary of devastating earthquake
One year on from disaster, mourning mixes with frustration over authorities’ response.
The Firats survived Turkey’s earthquakes, here’s their life a year later
A year on from the devastating earthquakes in Turkey, Al Jazeera follows up with a displaced family in Adiyaman.
Mehmet Koc, 13, sits on a bed at London's Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital for a prosthetics fitting. [Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters]
Mehmet is comforted by his maternal grandmother Emine Karalioglu, 63, in Mersin hospital after having the bandages on his amputated legs changed in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake in Mersin, Turkey, February 17 2023. [Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters]
Pencil marks on a colouring book belonging to Mehmet Koc as he rests in his hospital bed after having the bandages on his amputated legs changed. [Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters]
Hasan and his late wife's mother, Emine Karalioglu, react in the hallway of Mersin hospital while his son Mehmet screams as nurses change the bandages. [Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters]
A building safety surveyor walks past rubble from damaged buildings in Antakya, Hatay province, February 25, 2023. [Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters]
Hasan Koc holds his mobile phone displaying a picture of his late wife, Didem, 46, who died in the earthquake. [Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters]
Hasan pushes his son Mehmet into a garden allotment to attend a picnic hosted by family friend Ali Cinar (L). [Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters]
Hasan prepares dinner for his son at his flat in London. [Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters]
Mehmet lays on a couch in the sitting room. [Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters]
Hasan holds up a Galatasaray football jersey with his son Mehmet's name on it. [Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters]
Prosthetist Paul Gandrapu (L) attends to Mehmet on a treatment bed at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital for a prosthetics fitting. [Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters]
Mehmet has received prosthetic legs, and in the hospital, he practises taking steps and doing exercises to build his strength. The legs, however, are a struggle to get used to; they take time to fit correctly, and as he grows, they will need to be frequently adjusted. [Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters]
Doctors estimate it requires 300 percent more energy to walk across a flat surface with bilateral above-knee prosthetics than natural walking, and for children, it is particularly hard. [Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters]
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A year of survival in the Turkey-Syria earthquake zoneThis article will be opened in a new browser window
How have the survivors fared since February 2023?
Since the earthquake, these northwest Syrian villagers camp out every night
Many villagers spend the day in their homes, then sleep in tents outside for fear of aftershocks.
