Interview about recent earthquake in Turkey
Interview about recent earthquake in Turkey
“Liberal culture is responsible for the destruction. We turned our backs on our villages and forests, stuck in the dark and dirty streets of cities.” –Ali Göçmen
The recent earthquake which hit southern Turkey and Northwest Syria on February 6 caused a huge devastation in both countries. The earthquake of 7.8 magnitude hit the corresponding regions on February 6 affected 10 major cities in Southern Turkey and 6 cities in Northwest Syria. In Turkey alone more than 13 million people are directly or indirectly impacted by the powerful earthquake killing more than 40,000 people. The earthquake was worst of its own kind in the last 84 years as described by Turkish president Recep Tayyab Erdogan.
The current situation in Turkey shows both signs of optimism and pessimism as the scale of devastation of devastation is so huge because the rebuilding efforts might take years. In an effort to understand the current socio-political situation in Turkey, Shahzada Rahim interviewed Ali Göçmen, who is a journalist and practicing lawyer based in Mersin, Turkey.
Dear Ali Göçmen! Thank you for joining me for the interview. I want to start our interview with a few simple questions before moving on to the discourse.
Shahzada Rahim: First of all, God bless Türkiye and the Turkish nation. The earthquake caused huge devastation in various cities resulting in thousands of deaths. I pray for all the departed innocent souls who became the victims of this havoc natural disaster. Mr. Göçmen, tell me how you describe the socio-political and economic impacts of the recent earthquake. As a Turkish citizen, how you will describe it?
Ali Göçmen: First of all, I want to thank you for your good wishes. We are facing a truly great catastrophe. Turkey is an earthquake country due to its geological features. We have experienced devastating earthquakes on different dates. But that was the worst, we didn't expect it and unfortunately, we weren't prepared.
Tens of thousands of our citizens died, and hundreds of thousands were left homeless. Industrial facilities, infrastructures, schools, hospitals, and even dams were seriously damaged. We are facing a very serious economic collapse. People had to migrate to the west of the country, we are still not over this great shock. I can say that sadness, bewilderment, fear, and worst of all, the feeling of uncertainty, and worrying about the future are common feelings of all of us.
Shahzada Rahim: Indeed, the ongoing situation in the country is hard for everyone to bear and accept the aftermath of the destruction. Since the earthquake left thousands homeless and many still waiting for their loved ones to be taken out of the rubble dead or alive. Hope is still there. In the wake of the earthquake, do you think the Turkish government's response was robust and efficient? As we have seen in various cities such as Hatay and Kahramanmaras, people were complaining about the inadequate response of government. How do you comment on this?
Ali Göçmen: Immediately after the earthquake, a state of bewilderment and not knowing what to do prevailed. But soon the public authorities organized and took swift action. The Ministry of Emergencies quickly began to intervene. The damage to the supply roads and tunnels due to the earthquake and the collapse of the bridges was effective in delaying the aid. The effects of the destruction were so great that even the railroads became unusable. In the first place, the city of Hatay was helped by ships and helicopters, and even the airports became unusable. First of all, these problems were solved in a short time. Before the elections to be held in May, opposition parties and liberal media accuse the government of incompetence and want to turn this di…
we're entering an Atlanticist west lane again, but the new government has no magic wand in the face of these major economic problems. They will not be able to form a long-term alliance.
Shahzada Rahim: Türkiye has been always at the forefront when it comes to rescuing operations and humanitarian assistance around the world. Start with support and assistance to millions of Syrian refugees and many other humanitarian operations in Asia and Africa. This is the first time in many decades, Türkiye has become the victim of such a huge natural disaster. How do you see the international rescue response to earthquake in Türkiye? As the reports emerged, soon after the earthquake hit various cities in Türkiye, more than forty-five countries have sent their rescue teams.
Ali Göçmen: The support of the international rescue teams made us happy; we know that many countries provided equipment and personnel assistance in this process. Russia made very important contributions to the extinguishing of the great fire in the Iskenderun port and the establishment of temporary hospitals. Two years ago, in the big forest fires in our coastal cities, Russia sent planes to prevent the fire from growing. The Turkish people did not forget this. We thank all countries for their assistance.
Shahzada Rahim: As the Turkish proverb says “Dost kara günde belli olur.”, which means “A real friend is understood on a bad day”. Do you think the friend came up swiftly to aid Türkiye? How you will explain the level of support Türkiye received both from both East and west?
Ali Göçmen: I must say that the aid of western states is weak except for a few states. We can say that these aids are mostly symbolic aids, but Russia, China, Azerbaijan and Greece provided important aid.
liberal culture is responsible for the destruction. We turned our backs on our villages and forests, stuck in the dark and dirty streets of cities. We lost our peace and joy in the dungeons of glass towers built by cunning and ruthless realtors, moneylenders, and bankers.
Shahzada Rahim: Türkiye is having elections in June and the current government of AKP is facing a huge resistance from the opposition due to soaring inflation and declining living standards. Do you think, the recent earthquake devastation will impact the outcome of elections, if they were held on time. It seems that at the moment, Türkiye is facing an eschatological battle from within as the political landscape seems much polarized between pro-western, and pro-Eastern bloc. In words of Thomas Maine “just like 20th century Europe, Türkiye is fighting for its soul.” How you will describe this?
Ali Göçmen: Turkey has been experiencing significant economic problems, particularly high inflation, for a long time. Moreover, this latest earthquake disaster made things even more complicated. In addition, we have a serious drought problem in autumn and winter, and this will have reflections on the agricultural economy. I predict that the Erdogan government will lose in the June elections. The liberal opposition bloc will emerge victorious. And we're entering an Atlanticist west lane again, but the new government has no magic wand in the face of these major economic problems. They will not be able to form a long-term alliance. I do not anticipate that the government that is likely to be formed by the liberal opposition bloc after the elections will be permanent and stable.
Shahzada Rahim: In the last few years, Türkiye is facing an exacerbating level of polarization in the social and political spheres due to ongoing economic woes. Do you think, the damage caused by the recent earthquake will further contribute to the ongoing polarization. From the ontological perspective, how do you see the long-term impact of this politicized-polarization on Türkiye’s future on the global stage?
Ali Göçmen: Yes, polarization will become more evident after the earthquake. We are already starting to see signs of this. We all know the social and cultural consequences of the Lisbon earthquake. But I believe that this time liberalism will be questioned, not God and destiny.
Because liberal culture is responsible for the destruction. We turned our backs on our villages and forests, stuck in the dark and dirty streets of cities. We lost our peace and joy in the dungeons of glass towers built by cunning and ruthless realtors, moneylenders, and bankers. And most importantly, we forgot. I want to tell you something interesting: Museums were the only places not destroyed in the earthquake. Nothing happened to the historical artifacts. but the majestic towers of the corporations collapsed. The French philosopher Regis Debray once said, "The power of democracy comes from forgetting." Yes, Democracy Lives in the Eternal Now. That's why we don't learn from the past. We faced this disaster because we did not learn from the past. We faced this disaster not because our engineers did not know enough physics and mathematics, but because they were immoral. The morality of liberalism is immoral. In the coming period, we will come to terms with liberal morality. The showdown will take place on the fault line between liberals and illiberal.
Thank you for your time and sharing our sadness.
Thank You for your time!
Note: This interview was exclusively conducted for the Tsargrad institute.