![]() ![]() Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Adiyaman, Turkey. KENYON: She says she's glad to be back, though like many people here, she really can't say when life will start to feel normal again. Now we came back, and we're doing the construction with our kids. Now, she says her family is trying to do what they can to rebuild.ĮMINE: (Through interpreter) My house is lightly damaged, but since it's on the ground floor, the inner walls were badly damaged. She, too, fled the earthquake zone in February. Doors, window frames, bed springs and other household items are neatly stacked, and families are browsing for things they can use. Not far away, there's another staple of life in Adiyaman these days, empty lots transformed into earthquake junkyards. A nearby security guard says the neighbors have been complaining for some time about the cement dust swirling around the neighborhood. ![]() KENYON: That's the sound of heavy equipment moving into place, preparing to demolish a badly damaged building that's several stories tall. (SOUNDBITE OF CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT RUNNING) But here in Adiyaman, it's clear that the rubble has definitely not all been removed. He told a Berlin audience recently that all the debris from the quake had been cleared away and reconstruction was underway. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, stung by criticism immediately after the disaster, is now pointing to progress. But until it's official, nothing is certain. Some say it will include a half-million Turkish lira, nearly $20,000, for rebuilding a house and half that amount for rebuilding a workplace. KENYON: Officials have been talking about an assistance package for private rebuilding, but it's not ready yet. The buildings get demolished, so anyone who wants to rebuild, they can do it. HATICE: (Through interpreter) They say, if you want, you can make your building in your lot. Hatice says she's heard the government is making plans to provide assistance to people who want to rebuild their own homes, but she's not quite sure how it will work. A few children try to come back for more but get shooed away. They hold out their sacks and receive three loaves each. KENYON: All at once, the group waiting outside the bakery snaps into a somewhat organized line. We can't start before there's an official announcement. KENYON: With officials saying more than a million people in Turkey were displaced by the quake, Burhan says everyone in downtown Adiyaman is waiting for the government to give the go-ahead for new construction.īURHAN: (Through interpreter) We're hearing that might begin this month, but it's not clear yet. We rent there because there are no places to rent in this area. All the houses are gone, either demolished or uninhabitable. Burhan uses that extra money to make the loaves that he gives away to quake victims each day.īURHAN: (Through interpreter) Our own bakery was demolished in the earthquake, so we're using this prefabricated structure for now. KENYON: Working inside the makeshift bakery, squeezed into a temporary building, Burhan says, ever since the earthquake, customers who can afford it leave a donation when they buy their bread. HATICE: (Through interpreter) We are waiting for our turn. Hatice says she comes here most mornings because the bakery gives away loaves of bread to needy families. Hatice is in a temporary apartment after losing her home in the quake, and she's applied to move into a shipping container as her next dwelling. Many of the people approached for this story worried about official retribution if they spoke candidly about the earthquake and the government's response. Thirty-four-year-old Hatice agrees to speak with a reporter if her surname isn't used. KENYON: Sitting under a tree on a hot summer morning, a group of women and children are waiting outside a bakery. Several months later, the effects of the quake are starkly evident, both in the crumpled buildings around the city and in the way lives continue to be disrupted and too often dependent on the kindness of others. PETER KENYON, BYLINE: Adiyaman was among the hardest-hit cities on February 6. But instead, in the city of Adiyaman, people are salvaging and reselling old parts of buildings. ![]() The president did say there would be rapid reconstruction of hundreds of thousands of homes. Five months ago, 50,000 people were killed by an earthquake. The reconstruction in Turkey has not gone exactly as promised. ![]()
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