General News
17 February, 2023
Quake strikes home - 48 hours of anguish
By Tayyaab Masroor and Tony Curran Horsham father-of-four Cuneyt Askar could do nothing but pray and cry as news broke of the devastating Turkish earthquake. His cousin and nephew lived in the city of Antakya in the country’s far south, once home...
By Tayyaab Masroor and Tony Curran
Horsham father-of-four Cuneyt Askar could do nothing but pray and cry as news broke of the devastating Turkish earthquake.
His cousin and nephew lived in the city of Antakya in the country’s far south, once home to more than 200,000 people, and close to the border with Syria.
But when he saw the first images of the aftermath, he could see the city - the birthplace of his father and grandfather - was all but wiped out.
“There is no city called Antakya any more,” he said.
Seher Akbulut, his 40-year-old cousin, and her son Recep Akbulut, 14, lived on the third floor of a housing complex in the centre of Antakya - historically knowns as Antioch - in the province of Hatay.
It was 175km from the epicentre of the 7.8 magnitude quake - and the region was being pounded by more than 2000 aftershocks.
But Mr Askar was in the dark, powerless.
“Sometimes I was crying, sometimes I was praying,” he said. “I was not only worried for my family but for all the other people as well.”
Desperate for news, he managed to reach Seher’s husband, who was away from home at the time. But he too was unable to find out what had happened to his wife and son.
Finally, Cuneyt discovered they had survived, and more than 48 hours after the disaster gripped the world, he was able to speak to Seher.
“I was incredibly grateful to God when I heard her voice and realised that she was okay,” he told The Horsham Times.
Cuneyt revealed how his cousin survived the intial impact.
"When the earthquake struck, she was asleep as it was early in the morning in Turkey, and she was trapped in the room," he said.
“Recep was in another room. She smashed the door with a hammer, rescued her son and then got out of the home by sliding down on the rubble.
“All the buildings around her collapsed.
“There were aftershocks and everyone was screaming.
"She was feeling very embarrassed while leaving her neighbours in the rubble.
"She wanted to help her neighbours get out of the ruins but she had her son beside her.
“It was so shocking. She spent one night on one of the carpets she found under the rubble.
“She was in some park along with her son and hundreds of other people, but she was unable to sleep as there were a lot of people screaming, crying and asking for help."
Cuneyt said Seher's brother came from Mersin to pick them up from Antakya.
"She’s now at my house in Mersin," he said.
“She moved in with her mother and father who are already living in my place.
"She's healing from the scratches and bruises she received while rescuing her son - but she is still in shock and very afraid to go anywhere.
"During the earthquake, there were some cracks in my house as well.
"We are currently working to have them fixed as quickly as possible so that Seher will feel at ease there."
Cuneyt visited his family in Antakya only six months ago.
“I visited Turkey in August 2022 and went to Antakya twice,” he said.
“My favourite place in Antakya is the Asi river. It is no more."
Cuneyt is continuing to provide assistance to earthquake victims while in Horsham, his home for 13 years.
"It's like all of a sudden you feel inspired to become an angel and protect everyone," he said.
"When I got a call from my uncle, he informed me that there were individuals outside our house who had been affected by the earthquake and needed aid, so I sent them some money.
"I have also been sending my sister money.
"People are coming to our place asking for help, they need clothes, food and shelter.
"I'm helping all those people through my sister in Turkey."
The February 6 earthquake has so far claimed more than 40,000 lives, and left six million homeless in Turkey and Syria.
It is the deadliest disaster in Turkey's history, with international aid agencies continuing to pour into the affected areas.
The impact of the earthquake has affected 10 provinces in Turkey, home to about one in six of the country's population of 85 million.
Millions more are impacted in Syria, which has endured a civil war for the past 12 years.
People from Australia can donote to Turkey and Syria through https://www.redcross.org.au/earthquakes