Between 2011 and 2017, Reşit Yıldız was involved in the development of one of the biggest international container terminals in the Eastern Mediterranean and continues to be a member of its board. During those years, he spent a lot of time in Antakya, Maraş, Osmaniye, Antep, Adıyaman, İskenderun and Adana. All these places were hit by the earthquake, so Yıldız moved to İskenderun and lived in the port-full time for three months to help and to better understand the region’s needs.
“Having lost almost everything, people are desperate. Providing them their material needs is vital. Just as important is the provision of ‘hope’ and ‘feeling of progress’. Being with them physically and working with them hand in hand have a huge positive impact. I had nothing to eat the first two days, no shower for two weeks and no bed for 2 months. When they feel they are not alone they start gaining hope. Hope combined with motivation brings progress, provided that there is a plan to follow. Yes, you are starting from nothing. Yet the aim is to have progress, so the key question is ‘Are we better than we were yesterday?’. If the answer is yes, then everybody feels much better.
“On top of the earthquakes, we had a massive fire in the port triggered by the earthquake. Almost all the port and containers got burned. Our employees thought the port would never become operational again. We said we would do everything to resume operations and requested their collaboration. Only two months after the earthquake we started partial operation. It is beyond imagination how this partial progress boosted their motivation. Of course, it was not only the repair of the port that we focused on but also on providing container homes, cafeteria, laundry facilities and preschool education.”
Published July 2023
