'This place seems abandoned to its fate. There is no state or government here'

Photo: HDP

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"People are on the streets, and there is no shelter or heating. There is no water, no tents, no bread, and no food. This place seems abandoned to its fate. There is no state or government here. There is pain, there is anger," Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Co-Chair Mithat Sancar said while speaking to the earthquake victims in the heavily affected city of Hatay.

Sancar is in the disaster area as part of an HDP delegation inspecting the areas heavily hit by the Maraş earthquakes.

"We saw it with our own eyes. The destruction is enormous, and the city is abandoned. Hatay has been completely left to its own fate. We saw many destroyed buildings in the areas visited, but no rescue efforts," Sancar states, emphasizing that collaboration and solidarity are necessary to heal wounds together.

"But the dimension of this disaster is enormous," the Co-Chair of Türkiye's second largest opposition party adds, pointing out that the government turned the earthquakes into a catastrophe and human tragedy.

"If the measures were taken in advance and if emergency aid and response works were organized quickly, there would not have been such a great loss of life," Sancar says.

"The destruction would not have been this big if the country's resources were used to help people live humanely and prevent such disasters. There is a big task for us," the politician emphasizes, adding his condolences to those who lost lives in the earthquake killing at least 6,957 in Türkiye alone.

"We convey our sympathies to our people. We offer our condolences for our losses. It is our duty to get this country out of this destruction together." (AS/WM)