AKP mayor of quake-stricken province: ‘Every cloud has a silver lining’

Duvar English

Fatma Şahin, the mayor of the southeastern province of Gaziantep and former family minister, has shared on social media a conversation she had with one of the citizens as she was touring the earthquake-stricken city.

In the video, the citizen tells the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) mayor Şahin: “On top of everything, now this (earthquake) has come. Let God save us from the worse. Turkey had come to the point of rising, but every cloud has a silver lining.”

Şahin is seen confirming the citizen in her remarks, similarly saying: “Every cloud has a silver lining. Whatever God says, it happens.”

When the citizen says, “We stand by our state, our president,” Şahin nods him on with approval and says the country will “recover fast” in the aftermath of the two major earthquakes that hit 10 provinces on Feb. 6.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Feb. 8 linked the thousands of deaths in the quakes to “destiny.” During his visit to Kahramanmaraş, another province severely affected by the quakes, he told a survivor: “These are the things that happen within the destiny plan.”

Afterwards, in remarks that showed his disagreement with Erdoğan, celebrity pro-government theologian Nihat Hatipoğlu said during a TV program: “The statements of scientists and experts are now like the religious orders. We are going to listen to them; we have to listen to them during the process afterwards. If disaster came upon us in the past since we did not listen to them, we will not express this as destiny. Destiny is not this; destiny is taking precautions.”

Following the two major earthquakes in the southeastern region on Feb. 6, questions have been raised with regards to the infrastructure’s standards. The widespread destruction is seen as a sign that there are serious problems with regards to the implementation and reinforcement of the necessary building standards by the authorities.