Deputies aid quake victim family in Van

Authorities have taken notice of a family whose 6-year-old daughter died of cold and malnutrition in the eastern province of Van on Nov. 15 after they were left homeless by a 7.2-magnitude temblor Oct. 23.

“Calls of support poured in from all corners of Turkey,” said Pakize Örgün, the mother of deceased 6-year-old Öznur Örgün. “I present my gratitude. Our home was destroyed in the earthquake. If the state had lent a helping hand back then, my daughter was perhaps going to survive. I thank everyone nonetheless. At least, I now know that my twin daughters will not die of cold and starvation.”

The Van Governor’s Office sent the parents and their twin daughters to Istanbul where they are to be sheltered in a guest house through the winter. Large numbers of deputies from Parliament have called the family to express their condolences, and some deputies also offered to shelter the family in their own homes for the winter, according to reports.

Seven children died of cold, malnutrition, fire and gas poisoning in the aftermath of the initial temblor in tents that were set up to shelter those rendered homeless by the quake.

Öznur Örgün died in the Van Regional Training and Research Hospital on Nov. 15 after she was rushed there with complaints of vomiting, diarrhea and a common cold. Öznur Örgün’s cause of death was formally announced as a combination of malnutrition, excessive dehydration and cold.

The Örgün family moved into a nylon makeshift tent after their tenement was damaged in the quake. The father Cemil Örgün was laid off from the cement factory he was employed in after production levels fell in consequence of the temblor.

The 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Van was followed by repeated aftershocks and another small-scale earthquake, killing over 600 and leaving thousands homeless in the wake of an unusually cold winter.