During the 32 years that Sabriye Karan's late
husband worked for the Turkish national rail company, her daughter Nehir grew
up travelling by train. She and Nehir moved into one after powerful earthquakes
destroyed her Turkiye home.
Sabriye, who has been living with Nehir, 13,
in a two-bed sleeping cabin for the past 18 days, said, "We never
anticipated we would live here. Usually, taking the train is a pleasure. But
things are different now.
The massive earthquakes in February that
killed 50,000 people in Turkey and Syria and left more than 1.5 million people
homeless have pushed Turkish authorities to find housing quickly.
In Iskenderun, a port city in the province of
Hatay that was severely affected by the earthquakes, survivors have sought
refuge in tents, container homes, hotel resorts, and even train carriages.
While only minimally damaged, with some wall cracks forming, Sabriye and Nehir
are afraid of returning to their third-floor apartment. Authorities have
cautioned residents not to enter numerous buildings because of damage from
subsequent earthquakes and aftershocks, which have significantly undermined
many of them.
The station at Iskenderun is open, but two of
the tracks are crammed with waggons carrying hundreds of survivors. Sabriye and
Nehir, who arrived first, discovered sleeper cabins. Some people sleep on their
backs on seats, like Arafat Ates, 63, and his wife Zeliha, 53.
Yusuf Kurma, 20, and Aysel Ozcelik, 20, were
sitting in another compartment and holding hands. After the first shock, the
engaged pair raced to find one another. The wedding may now be delayed. When
there are so many people dead, we can't have a wedding, Ozcelik stated.
To aid with boarding the carriages, step
ladders and small benches are scattered across the tracks. On rare occasions, a
station worker will signal to survivors crossing the tracks that a train is
coming.
At first, Sabriye and Nehir would be startled
whenever a passing train blew its horn. The 57-year-old law office clerk
remarked, "Now we're used to it.
They have a small cabin that is about the
width of a train window. It is warmer at night than a tent and can house a few
necessities. At least 18 hours a day are spent indoors, with only brief
excursions outside to line up for breakfast and dinner provided by humanitarian
organisations.
Their mental health has suffered from the
scarce company they have experienced since the earthquake upended their life,
according to Sabriye. She was having trouble coping with the death of her
spouse before the trauma of the earthquake made it even harder for her to do so
in 2020 when he passed away from COVID.