Tamer Tamar is a photographer for Magma magazine who penned his first-hand experiences at Hatay.
Merry Christmas to our Christian brothers and sisters. I rubbed my eyes in astonishment and refocused at the gigantic poster positioned somewhere between the Greek Orthodox church and Ulu Mosque. Yes, that’s what it said! It was Christmas 2010 in southeastern Turkey. Sensing my confusion, a shop owner lectured me gently, “Brother, we don’t know and care who’s Christian, Arabic or Sunni around here.” I should have known better, as this was Hatay, a city that had been welcoming different civilizations and religions for 2400 years.
Fast forward to the tragic day of February 6, 2023. A city already debilitated by the decade-long Syrian refugee crisis literally crumbles after two deadly earthquakes. As a photographer, I felt an immediate responsibility to document this tragedy and also provide financial assistance directly to the families in need. I arrived in Hatay on the Sunday after the earthquake. Nothing looked familiar. Completely disoriented, I felt like an extra in an apocalypse movie. Hatay was crying, yet these tears should never have been shed.
Listening to stories of incompetence and neglect from Antakya’s survivors, I thought about how big a role luck plays in our lives. Being healthy, having the means to pay for your food and education, and living in a building with solid ground in an earthquake zone are all factors that determine our fate. Hatay was grateful to the İBB firefighters who rescued 600 people in Antakya and Idea Universal, who brought containers to Iskenderun. And of course, to those tens of thousands of people who rushed to provide anything and everything.
It is important for RC alumni to not only organize and support initiatives remotely, but also to travel to the earthquake region and see exactly what families need to carry on. In this land of earthquakes, we will all need a helping hand at some point.
This article is based on Tamer Tamar's original piece, "Hatay'ın Gözyaşları", in the April 2023 issue of Magma magazine.
Published April 2023
