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Turkey still unable to track people lost or disabled in 2023 earthquakes after a year

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One year on, Turkish authorities are still unable to provide an accurate accounting of people who went missing or were disabled in two devastating earthquakes that hit Turkey on February 6, which killed more than 50,000 people and left millions homeless in numerous cities.

According to a news report by the Voice of America’s (VOA) Turkish edition on Friday, Health Ministry officials do not have data on the exact number of people who became disabled in the earthquake.

Abdurrahman Kurtarslan, president of the Federation of Disabled Associations, told VOA that Turkey’s 12.5 percent disability rate exceeds the global average of 8.5 percent, with a significant number of people becoming disabled due to the earthquakes last year.

“However, the exact figure has not been disclosed,” Kurtarslan added.

According to data from the Disabled Persons Association of Turkey, the figure was 10 million before the earthquake.

Sebahattin Şahatoğlu, 41, one of the many victims of the earthquakes who had a wall fall on his back during the quake, breaking his spine and causing paralysis in his legs, told VOA that he only received medical help one-and-a-half days after the earthquakes.

He said his actual treatment began a week later in Ankara. Şahatoğlu claimed the lack of timely medical assistance and the adverse effects of travel impacted his recovery, adding that if he could have received proper treatment earlier, he might not have become disabled.

His wife, Özge Şahatoğlu, said they only received support from volunteers in the area, underlining that the government did not provide them with accommodation or assistance in other matters. The family is still living in a tent.

Handicapped individuals say conditions in the container cities built in the earthquake zone are not disabled-friendly.

A report released by the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) six months after the earthquakes also highlighted the negative effects of camp conditions on the disabled and the lack of data on their exact number.

54 residents of luxury residence still missing 

Meanwhile, a report by the Gazete Duvar news website on Friday quoted Mehmet Şirin, who lives near the now-destroyed Rönesans Residence in Hatay and participated in search and rescue efforts at the building, as saying that the debris from the residence was dumped in an empty area 600 meters away.

The Rönesans Residence, a modern, luxury apartment complex in Hatay province with 249 flats, collapsed into a heap of rubble in the earthquake, with hundreds dying under the rubble. The building became a symbol of the rot in Turkey’s construction sector.

Şirin claimed that if a new search is conducted in the area, bones or some clues related to the missing 54 people could be found.

Gazete Duvar noted that no statement has been made by the Hatay Governor’s Office regarding Sirin’s claim despite their inquiries for information on the matter.

Earlier this week, Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its ally, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), rejected a parliamentary motion submitted by Aykut Kaya, an MP from the nationalist opposition İYİ (Good) Party, that aimed to determine which people went missing in the earthquakes, examine the identification, DNA sampling and autopsy procedures for all bodies recovered from the rubble, evaluate allegations of child abduction and implement necessary efforts to locate missing individuals.

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