One million quake survivors migrate

HATAY

Nearly 1 million people have migrated from the quake-hit provinces to other regions, while more than 18,000 Syrians have returned to their country following the earthquakes.

Citizens have migrated from the quake-hit provinces either under the coordination of the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) or by their own means, following the quakes that killed 44,218 people in Türkiye. 

They hope to return as soon as possible.

There were 474,520 evacuations by air, land, sea and rail under the coordination of AFAD, 105,683 people who left by their own means, and thousands of people leaving unregistered, making the total number of migrations over 1 million.

The number of migrants exceeds the population of 57 provinces in Türkiye.

Earthquake survivors who came to the AFAD-coordinated evacuation center in Hatay and got registered to relocate to different provinces said they would return someday.

The survivors said that the quakes and the endless aftershocks have damaged their mental health.

“When the housing problem is solved, we will return to our city. We would never leave our hometown and our land,” the survivors said.

It was seen that most of the earthquake survivors preferred to go to the provinces where their relatives were located.

Meanwhile, following the disaster, more than 18,000 Syrians voluntarily returned to their country, saying that the earthquake is worse than the war.

The bodies of about 2,000 Syrians who died in the quakes, who have been identified so far, have been taken to their homeland.

Within 14 days after the earthquake, 18,070 Syrians migrated back to their country. It was learned that most of the Syrians returned for good.

Aya Mustafa, who returned to her country with her two children through Cilvegözü Border Gate said that they came to Türkiye because they were terrified of the war, yet this is worse than the war.

Haven, who returned to Syria with his wife and three children, said: “I came to Türkiye so that my children would not die in the war. Pain and drama found us here too. Many of my relatives died in the earthquake. I am returning to my country, I love Türkiye, thank you for everything, farewell.”

It was learned that there were also many unidentified Syrians among the people who died in the earthquake and were buried after DNA samples and fingerprints were taken.