Turkey grieves on quake anniversary

ANTAKYA (AFP) – Ravaged by grief, bearing torches and holding up portraits of their lost families, thousands of earthquake survivors gathered in the pre-dawn hours yesterday for the first anniversary of Turkey’s worst disaster of modern times.

At 4:17 a.m., the moment the first 7.8-magnitude shake set off a calamity that claimed more than 53,000 lives in Turkey and nearly 6,000 in Syria, those affected by the quake gathered in the ruins of Antakya, an ancient city transformed into deserted wasteland.

The night before, many of them had listened to the local symphony orchestra play a memorial concert in a central square, surrounded by vast empty spaces where bustling neighborhoods once stood.

Last year’s Feb. 6 disaster flattened swathes of cities across 11 southeastern Turkish provinces and parts of Syria, becoming the earthquake-prone region’s worst disaster in centuries.

It displaced millions and forced hundreds of thousands to move into container camps, where they have spent the past year haunted by the past.

The trauma and bouts of anger spilled over when people briefly scuffled with the police, who tried to stop one Antakya procession with barrier fences, according to AFP reporters at the scene.

But the overall mood was much the same as it was when disaster first struck – overwhelming grief and lingering disbelief.

The survivors embraced, placing candles where their loved ones were crushed to death in their sleep.

“It doesn’t feel like it was a year ago. For me, it feels like it was yesterday,” said Eda Boz, 44, who was forced to move to the capital Ankara and returned to Antakya for the commemorations.