Being a Journalist in the Disaster Zone

The south-eastern city of Van was rocked by a 5.6 magnitude aftershock on Wednesday evening (9 November). The earthquake had its epicentre in Edremit. 25 buildings collapsed, 22 of them had been vacated earlier. According to ntvmsnbc.com, 24 people were rescued from under the rubble and ten people are reported dead.

Two hotels were among the buildings that collapsed. The fact that these hotels hosted journalists and members of rescue teams gives an idea about the conditions people are working under in earthquake regions.

The first major earthquake happened less than three weeks ago on 23 October and hit the region with an impact of 7.2 on the Richter scale. The Doğan Hotel was damaged in the first quake and the elevator was out of order because its shaft had shifted. Journalists Sebahattin Yılmaz and Cem Emir from the Doğan News Agency (DHA) who stayed in the damaged hotel could not be reached yet since the aftershock completely destroyed the building.

bianet talked to journalists working in the region who described the situation and their working conditions.

"Staying in that hotel is like knowingly taking the road to ruin"

A reporter working in the region who did not want to have his name disclosed said in a statement made to bianet that working in the earthquake zone in particular was a task "trusted in God".

The reporter said that some journalists stayed in hotels arranged by the institutions they were working for while others settled in hotels they arranged themselves. They received basic first aid training before they came to Van but they apparently did not undergo any earthquake training.

The journalist continued, "If you stay in these hotels, you are knowingly taking the route to ruin. I stayed at the destroyed Bayram Hotel for example. After the 7.2 magnitude earthquake all the walls had cracks".

"The day is very tiring and we want to go to the place we are staying at as soon as possible. We cannot sleep in the car because it is too cold outside. Under these conditions you do not care about the place you stay. You just have to like the place you sleep. We cannot stay in a tent either because the number of tents is not enough for the people".

"Maybe the institutions could hire caravans in order to provide journalists with the opportunity to make news in a healthy way in these regions. However, the shortcomings in Van are so numerous that it would not be right to reduce the problems to the journalists only", the reporter indicated.

"One of one or two hotels that were still standing"

Müjgan Halis is one of the journalists who stayed at the Bayram Hotel after the earthquake on 23 October that had its epicentre in Erciş.

Halis said she stayed at the Bayram Hotel because they were told it was "solid". The newspaper she is working for actually had an arrangement with another hotel in Van which was damaged during the first quake. Thereupon, a travel agency directed Halis to the Bayram Hotel.

Halis said that during her stay in the hotel she experienced a 5.6 magnitude earthquake. She realised the cracks on the walls when she was about to leave the hotel.

Halis pointed out that the rumour of saying "They stay there because it is cheap" did not reflect the truth since the Bayram Hotel was one of one or two hotels that were still standing after the first earthquake.

She went on, "I want to go to Van but I cannot find a ticket. I do not know what the journalists are doing right now or where they are staying. I do not want to say that we suffer more than the people in the region but we are really working under very difficult conditions. Tents or caravans must be taken there for the journalists".

Facing technical impossibilities

Sıdık Güler, Van reporter for the Dicle News Agency (DİHA), spent the night in his car.

"It is not certain at all where we are going to stay. Sometimes in a tent, sometimes in a house. The journalists coming here who are working for big media outlets usually stay in hotels, the others generally stay in tents", Güler reported. He also drew attention to technical impossibilities which make it very difficult to pass on the news. Güler said it took him a long time just to send two pictures from inside his car. (NV/EKN/VK)