ANTIOCH – MISSION. “The Antioch you knew does not exist.” This shocking confession of local residents perhaps best describes the current situation. Hundreds of buildings have been destroyed, there is no electricity, no natural gas, and in most of the damaged buildings, rescue work is carried out by the citizens themselves.

Since the beginning of our journey from Adana V Antioch we realized that the situation in the area was worse than we had heard and imagined. The highway connecting the two cities in three places is badly damaged. Dozens of trucks were hauled by excavators, and several ambulances with sirens on tried to avoid vehicles on busy roads. The mobilization of the state apparatus for this particular city seems to have some delay, but given the circumstances, it is difficult to ascertain responsibility, since earthquakes measuring 7.8 and 7.6 on the Richter scale affected 10 cities with a population of 12.5 million people.

In downtown Antioch, at least 50% of the buildings collapsed, with significant damage to the rest. We walked the streets of the city, and when we said that we were journalists, the residents begged us to inform the authorities that their relatives and friends were under the rubble of their houses. Others told us to help them find food. On the outskirts of the city, people lit fires to keep warm and waited for help from the authorities.

The situation in the area was worse than we heard or imagined.

On some streets of the city, we saw army equipment, as well as military helicopters, as well as small groups distributing fruit, blankets and packaged food, but in many areas, until late at night, as residents told us, no one came. help them or find out their needs.

OUR EMAK team who arrived in the area managed to save 4 people, a man 50 years old, a girl 11 years old, a girl 7 years old and 15 years old. EMAK’s efforts continue, with residents of the area begging and pulling their hands to go to their houses, which have been reduced to rubble. During the few hours that we met with them, we found that, unfortunately, due to the lack of organized coordination with the Turkish civil protection authorities regarding rescue priorities, the people from EMAK are trying to decide and prioritize who they will pull out from under debris. themselves . Late at night, when an 11-year-old boy was being rescued, there was no ambulance, and the undersigned almost forcibly stopped a private ambulance that happened to be passing by. In previous EMAK rescue operations, the ambulance was always on standby, as was the armored gendarmerie vehicle. He left late at night.

However, we must emphasize that with so many dead and injured, it is difficult to expect rescue teams or government assistance to be everywhere. Maybe in other cities of Turkey the organization is better. Antioch, an important city for Christianity, will need a long period of time and huge government assistance to get back on its feet.