A FAULT OF FATE: ONE BUILDING, TWO FAMILIES, SEVEN LOST LIVES AFTER AN EARTHQUAKE IN HATAY, TURKEY.

On 6 February 2023, at 04:17 TR an Mw 7.8 earthquake struck southern and central Turkey and northern and western Syria followed by another Mw 7.7 earthquake. They were felt as far as Egypt, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Cyprus, and the Black Sea. The back-to-back earthquakes demolished or damaged at least 12,000 buildings in minutes. The early morning hour made it harder for civilians to seek safety and residential buildings with poor construction fell instantly burying entire families in their homes. It was an unprecedented catastrophe made worse by the strained response from the Turkish government. There was so much destruction, uncertainty, and at the beginning— hope. It took over eight hours for official military and aid to be ordered in the epicenters like Hatay and the responsibility of rescuing thousands of civilians was left to survivors and volunteers. However, the biggest government failure occurred years before, in 2019.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan supported amnesties for housing projects in Hatay despite their unsafe foundations. Addressing these safety concerns would be expensive, unpopular, and slow the country’s economic growth. In this case, neighboring buildings were built by a different developer and remain standing. Developer,——, forged government documents and inspections and built this newer residential project up to eight floors to maximize profit. It fell in the first minute of the earthquake. As the days wore on, hope turned to grief and outrage. How could this happen? How is this still happening? Where was the help?

The site of collapsed building. **Atatürk Cd No:286 Odabaşı, 31001 Antakya/Hatay, Türkiye. The buildings around it remain standing.**

When I met the Yucel Family, they were five days into what I can only describe as a nightmare. The first thing Mehmet said to me was, “please tell this story. Tell everyone you can so people know what happened. This shouldn’t have happened.” He was so distraught, so tired, so broken but still fighting for the family he lost. one sat down and decided I wasn’t leaving until I was able to do that.

On February 5, 2023, he went to work on the border of Turkey and Syria, in the Yayladağı district, as usual. During a break in the evening, he called his wife, Ayfer. Ayfer informed him that she and their children Zynep Nur, 13, and Mehmet Ali, 12, were visiting Ayfer’s sister in Hatay’s Soft Lake District. Mehmet remembers joking with her, “don’t stay out too late. There is a school tomorrow.” Ayfer assured him they would sleep there and come back before school in the morning. Family members say it is unusual for Ayfer to have stayed and that she never did things like this on school nights. If they hadn’t stayed, maybe they would still be alive.

For eight days, it was moments of repetitive action, repetitive thoughts- waiting, then running to identify a body that had been found, and extreme distress when it was someone else. Every hour passed added to the agony. Finally on February 13, the day before Valentine's day, Mehmet’s wife and children were retrieved and identified. They were buried in the family cemetery on a hill that overlooked the ruins below. The midnight burial was fast and emotional. In a way, it embodied the magnitude of loss of this event- the most vulnerable part. A family in mourning singing into the darkness as the dirt hugs the memories of what used to be.

A relative holds a photo of Mehmet and his family during a happier time just weeks before when Ayfer, Zynep, and Mehmet were still alive.

Mehmet walks back to his family’s camp after finding out a body found in the rubble was not that of his family.

The Yucel family begins another day of waiting, a routine they have had for seven days since the Earthquake struck Hatay.

Mehmet paces back from the dig site where rescue workers are still looking for his wife, Ayer, and children, Zynep and Mehmet.

Mehmet and his family sleep outside as volunteers and rescue workers shifted debris to recover loved ones' bodies beneath the eight floors of destruction.

Mehmet and his relatives cry out in grief after the discovery of his wife was found next to his two children.

Zeynep and Mehtap embrace next to Ayfer’s body after she is found and identified.

The bodies of Ayfer, Zynep, and Mehmet lay in the darkness after an eight-day recovery effort.

Mehmet stares into the darkness after the bodies of his family are recovered one by one.

The bodies of Mehmet’s family are carried to their final resting place during a midnight ceremony.

The family grave site where all the Yucel family is buried sits on top of a hill overlooking the destruction below.

Zeynep dresses the grave of her cousins with flowers and stones, a Turkish tradition.

Mehmet sits with relatives at the family restaurant in Dover and mourns with the community following the burial of his family.

The Yucel family sleeps in a tent on their property every night as aftershocks continue to strike the region.

Mustafa speaks of a similar misfortune. He lost his sister, Zehra, Brother in law Hikmet, and their children Kaan, 4, and Bilge, only 1 year old. A well-educated and full-of-life family that Mustafa’s mother says is a symbol for the world. “Well-educated people underground, and those who are not, above it.”

Within 24- hours of the first earthquake Mustafa + his family came to the site of the apartment. Due to the weather conditions, there was an issue initially recognizing the structural damage. All they knew was that the water towers that used to sit on top of the eighth floor of the building were now at eye level. As the sun rose the heartbreaking reality became clear. He waited and 30 hours had passed. Why was there no government helping after all this time? he kept asking. A week went by and still no trace of his family had been detected- he said knew on the first day they were gone.

Because the building had twisted before it fell, the family was found separately. Hikmet and Kaan were found hugging each other… Zehra was found holding Bilge some days after. I went to Bursa to cover the funeral and the power of this story grew greater as I was shown the rituals and traditions of a town in mourning. Four innocent lives taken too young were lowered into their graves and covered in dirt by Mustafa and his family members— Zehra still hugging her youngest child. Her favorite flowers were placed softly on top of the three freshly-dug graves.

Mustafa holds a photo of himself with his sister, Zehra, and her family, Hikmet, Kaan, and Bilge.

Mustafa leads a friend through the rubble to demonstrate what his days have been like while he has been waiting for the bodies of his relatives.

Mustafa holds his mother after carrying the bodies of his sister and her family out of the rubble. He describes his need to be strong for her and to hold her before he held himself in pain.

Mustafa’s family wash their feet outside the mosque, before community prayer. Mustafa stresses the importance of this in Muslim culture especially when there is death.

Mustafa and his hometown community stand outside their mosque in Bursa facing Kaaba.

Community members participate in Namaz outside the mosque, turning their heard left and right citing words of peace.

Zehra’s body is carried delicately to her grave. It is tradition to raise the bodies overhead before lowering them out of respect and as a final goodbye.

Mustafa looks in the mirror after two weeks of not showering or seeing his reflection. He describes what he thought.

Mehmet’s and Mustafa’s stories are shared by 40 other families whose hopes were instantly buried beneath the rubble of a structure that by government standards should have never been built. If it were not for brave volunteers these beloved families would still be under destruction. Mustafa is now fighting for accountability. He has created a community of all the families who lost their loved ones and plans to take it to court to address the violations and negligence that contributed to this outcome. Since February 6, there have been over 7,000 aftershocks of various strengths. Although most surviving residents have evacuated, buildings continue to collapse.

After two relentless weeks, the recovery efforts of this lot have concluded due to the lack of resources. The smell of corpses hangs in the air of the parking lot. Some people are still waiting from afar and unclaimed bodies remain under the first two stories of debris. This story is far from over as the fight for justice has just begun. Families say nothing will ever be enough.