Rubble dumped on graves of Turkey’s earthquake victims

Duvar English

The rubble removed from the demolished buildings that collapsed during the Feb. 6 earthquakes in eastern Adıyaman province was dumped in Karapınar Cemetery where the earthquake victims were buried, according to the news reported by Mesopotamia News Agency.

According to official figures, more than 11,000 people lost their lives and 5,953 buildings collapsed in Adıyaman. Authorities decided that about 20,000 buildings in the province should have been demolished urgently because they were heavily damaged.

Even though 11 months have passed since the earthquakes, the demolition works have not yet been completed, and the rubble of many buildings has not been removed.

The rubble had used to be dumped into the stream bed passing by Karapınar Cemetery. As the stream bed filled up, the rubble started to be dumped into cemetery. 

Hundreds of people who lost their lives in the earthquake were buried in the cemetery and the survivors who came to visit their deceased relatives reacted against this practice.

Alican Yılmaz, who lost 25 relatives in the quakes, said "They are making us experience the earthquake once again.” He stated that 16 of his relatives were buried in the cemetery where the rubble was dumped and added, "The rubble of the buildings under which our relatives died is being dumped next to them. This hurts us once again.”

Yılmaz said that they could not even breathe because of the dust from the rubble while visiting the cemetery. 

“After the earthquake, machines did not come to remove our loved ones from the rubble. We waited desperately in front of the rubble. When we see that they dumped the same rubble to the graves of our loved ones, we go back to that day again,” he added.