Life after the earthquake in Baglar: “We are desperate!”

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Nowadays, a rush has started on the streets of Diyarbakir.

After the earthquake, hundreds of buildings were damaged in this city. People in this district are now trying to move. 

There is an internal migration in the city.

To see those buildings, we go to the Baglar district.

While we are walking in the neighborhood of Muradiye, we come across a family that is taking their goods from their home.

After the greeting, 2 women approach us and start talking at the same time.

“People who are staying here, also as we are”

Please told our bother to everybody. We have been scattered for 18 days. Our building has been damaged. We go to sleep in the mosque every night and come back here looking for houses to rent. We cannot enter the building because of fear. We are currently looking for a house to rent. There are some houses but their rent is now double. There isn’t anybody here. People who have to stay here, also as we are.

Aycan Mentes

Aycan Mentes is the only one of those families who does not know what to do due to desperate.

She can neither leave from there nor enter the house.

Baglar is a district of Diyarbakir and it has had many migrations in the 90s.

It has become a place for both poor people and people who have migrated.

We meet one of those families in the streets of Baglar.

We moved here from Lice in the 90s. We have been living for 30 years. We got a house with great difficulty and now it isn’t too. I rented a house, they want 6 thousand TL. We don’t know what we do.

Sukru is the only one of them whose have to move his/her house.

According to official numbers, 1,100 buildings will demolish in the city.

The most damaged place is in the Baglar district.

This news was translated by Yonca Sarsilmaz