People of Turkey face enormous long-term challenges ahead

By Chris Herlinger

The people of Turkey face enormous long-term challenges ahead in the wake of the August earthquake that killed at least 14,000, says a United Methodist couple who were in Turkey at the time of the disaster.

"The worst is yet to come ….there are many homeless and many without family support," said Jim Morgan, a member of Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Midland, Mich. "The psychological impact on the survivors is unfathomable. How do you cope with something like this?"

Alice Morgan, a retired biochemist, who along with her husband had worked on a Volunteers in Mission (VIM) project at Africa University in Zimbabwe in 1998, said the earthquake has shown the need for better emergency preparedness in Turkey. "For a country with so many earthquakes, they need that," she said. "They need to develop a better philosophy of emergency preparedness."

Accompanied by friends from Midland, the Morgans were on a tour to watch the solar eclipse and visit historical sites when the earthquake struck. Fortunately, they had journeyed from Istanbul to Canakkale the day before the disaster and were some 240 miles from the epicenter when the quake struck.

While they did not see actual physical damage, the Morgans were awakened by room vibrations and bed shaking. As they spoke with Turks and watched Turkish television during their two-and-half week stay, the Morgans were eyewitnesses to the general mood of a society trying to cope with one of the worst natural disasters of this century. In addition to known fatalities, 44,000 people were injured and as many as 35,000 are believed to be buried under rubble.

"I quickly picked up that the Turkish word for earthquake is 'deprem,' " said Jim Morgan, a retired corporate planner, who was on his third visit with his wife to Turkey. Alice Morgan had taught school in Turkey for two years in the 1950s.

Among the considerable needs facing Turks are housing reconstruction, medical care and long-term trauma counseling. And among the questions the Morgans heard were why foreign governments and relief agencies were doing so much while the Turkish government could have done more.

For his part, Jim Morgan said he is not sure how the Turkish government could have been better prepared for a disaster of such magnitude; however, it is clear that the government will have to investigate faulty construction of buildings, believed to be a major factor in the enormous death toll. The bribing of housing inspectors is believed to have contributed to that problem, Alice Morgan said.

Rather than whole blocks being destroyed, the quake destroyed "every 10th building," Jim Morgan said.

"It's not uncommon to see buildings only partially completed to begin with," he said. "That's how the building industry operates there…. And it's why there is a lot of finger-pointing going on now and why the Turkish government going after some of the contractors."

Jim Morgan said the mood in the country was understandably grim and stoic, with many in the predominately Muslim nation concerned another major earthquake could occur soon. "Many people said, 'It's a way of life here….It will happen again and it's God's will.' " Hope was found, however, in both Turks and non-Turks working together in relief efforts. Alice Morgan said while an earthquake is a harder kind of disaster to predict than, say, a hurricane, many Turks were clearly embarrassed by their lack of preparedness. "People knew they were caught off-guard."

The response by the United Methodist Committee on Relief is through Action by Churches Together (ACT) International, whose member churches have joined with other churches and church bodies to form the Christian Churches in Turkey Steering Committee for Disaster Relief which will oversee the response efforts.