Earthquake victims settled in Istanbul

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Beylikdüzü Mayor Yusuf Uzun (3rd L) says he visits each family to inquire about their needs. 248 families are relocated to Istanbul’s Beylikdüzü district.

About 248 families victimized by the 2011 earthquakes in Turkey’s southeastern province of Van were relocated to Istanbul’s Beylikdüzü district by Beylikdüzü Municipality.

The families were placed in houses rented by Beylikdüzü Municipality, a municipality official told the Hürriyet Daily News, adding that the total number of the newcomers was around 1,900.

Household items were provided by local people, press counselor of Beylikdüzü Municipality Zuhal Konur Ekici said. Nourishment and hygiene products were also provided for the families. The earthquake victims were encouraged to apply for jobs in the district and a career office was set up to help them, Ekici said.
Mayor Yusuf Uzun said he would visit one family every week to inquire about their needs, a press release said. “Private and public sector enterprises worked together on this project,” Uzun said.

Abdurrahman Aşkan, an earthquake victim who is married with four children, said he and his family came to Istanbul on Oct. 27, 2011, and they were not only supported financially but were welcomed by the locals.

Beylikdüzü Municipality declared three villages in Van as “fellow villages,” which means the municipality has the responsibility of providing the crucial needs of those villages.

Following the 7.2-magnitude earthquake on Oct. 23, 2011, and numerous aftershocks, the number of people to have left the province since the quakes was estimated as high as 370,000.