Reconstruction slows in February’s still-earthquake TurkeyExBulletin

Thousands of survivors of the earthquakes that devastated Turkey in the spring are still displaced and struggling to rebuild, despite the president’s promise of speedy reconstruction.

Mary Louise Kelly, host:

To Türkiye now. It has been more than five months since more than 50,000 people were killed in the earthquake that also displaced more than a million people. The Turkish president has promised a quick rebuilding of the houses, but the reconstruction efforts are still behind, so much so that people in the city of Adiyaman are salvaging parts of the buildings and reselling them. NPR’s Peter Kenyon reports.

Peter Kenyon, Belen: Adiyaman was among the hardest hit cities on February 6. Several months later, the aftermath of the earthquake is starkly visible, both in the crumbling buildings around the city and in the way life continues to get stuck dependent, too often, on the kindness of others.

(Cross)

Kenyon: Sitting under a tree on a hot summer morning, a group of women and children are waiting outside a bakery. Thirty-four-year-old Hatice agrees to speak with a reporter if her title is not used. Several people contacted for this story worried about official retaliation if they spoke openly about the earthquake and the government’s response. Hatice lives in a temporary apartment after losing her home in the earthquake, and has applied to move into a shipping container as her next residence. Hatice says she comes here most of the time because the bakery distributes loaves of bread to needy families.

Hatice: (through an interpreter) We are waiting our turn. Then we get into the queue. I left my children at home. It’s very hot, so I left them in the house.

(sound synchronized with auto rotation)

Kenyon: While working inside the makeshift bakery, which is trapped in a makeshift building, Burhan says, since the earthquake, customers who can afford it leave a donation when they buy their bread. Al-Burhan uses that extra money to make the loaves he provides to the earthquake victims every day.

Burhan: (through a translator) Our bakery was destroyed in the earthquake, so we are using this prefabricated structure at the moment. All the houses are gone, either demolished or uninhabitable. So we stay about an hour apart. We rent there because there are no places to rent in this area.

Kenyon: With officials saying more than a million people in Turkey have been displaced by the earthquake, Burhan says everyone in downtown Adiyaman is waiting for the government to give the go-ahead for new construction.

Burhan: (Through interpreter) We hear that this could start this month, but it’s not clear yet. We cannot begin until there is an official announcement. Once we see that, we’ll get started.

KENNYON: At once, the group waiting outside the bakery settles into a fairly orderly line. They grab their bags and each receive three loaves. A few kids try to come back for more but are turned away. Hatice says she has heard that the government is making plans to provide assistance to people who want to rebuild their homes, but she is not entirely sure how that will work.

Hatice: (through an interpreter) They say, if you want, you can make your own building in your place. Buildings are being demolished, so anyone who wants to rebuild, can do so. That’s what I heard.

KENNYON: Officials have talked about a special rebuild assistance package, but it’s not ready yet. Some say it would involve half a million Turkish lira, roughly $20,000, to rebuild a house and half of that to rebuild a workplace. But until it becomes official, nothing is certain.

Criticized immediately after the disaster, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says progress has been made. He recently told an audience in Berlin that all earthquake debris had been removed and reconstruction was underway. But here in Adiyaman, the rubble has clearly not been completely removed.

(Sound synchronized with running construction equipment)

Kenyon: This is the sound of heavy equipment moving into place, preparing to demolish a badly damaged building several stories high. A nearby security guard says that neighbors have been complaining for some time about the cement dust swirling around the neighborhood.

Not far away, there is another staple of life in Adiyaman these days, with lots of empty land turned into earthquake junkyards. Doors, window frames, bed springs, and other household items are stacked neatly, and families browse for items they can use.

(sync sound of a spinning cart)

Kenon: I met a woman named Amina. She is looking for a door. She, too, fled the earthquake zone in February. Now, she says her family is trying to do what they can to rebuild.

Emin: (through an interpreter) My house had little damage, but since it is on the ground floor, the interior walls were badly damaged. I just got back after five months. We couldn’t stay here. There was no place to stay. Now we are back and building with our kids. We stay on the roof.

Kenyon: She says she’s happy to be back, though like many people here, she can’t really say when life will start to feel normal again. Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Adiyaman, Türkiye.

Copyright © 2023 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit the Terms of Use and Permissions pages of our website at www.npr.org for more information.

NPR scripts are created on an expedited deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The official record of NPR programming is the audio record.

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos