6th of February 2023. A day for the people of Turkey to remember forever.

Two earthquakes hit the South East of the country. One after the other. With the magnitudes of 7.8 and 7.6. They were not among the biggest earthquakes of the known human history. Nor are they one of the longest ones. But they are certainly among the most destructive.

They didn’t have to be this destructive. These quakes have long been expected in this region. Multiple scientists warned the government and municipalities for them to take necessary measures. None was taken.

The result was a social disaster. 11 cities were immediately affected. The estimated number of the totally or nearly destroyed buildings is around 214 thousand. The officially declared dead toll has exceeded 45 thousand, approaching to 50 thousand. The exact casualty is impossible to know because the Turkish government began to remove the rubble with construction machines without any regard of any possible danger to lives.

These machines did not appear in the first seventy two hours. The government did not mobilize any of its forces in this time. No military search and rescue teams and equipment were provided. No power generators or lightening. No tents, food and water supplies for survivors. Nothing! People were left with nothing during the most vital hours to save lives! Those who survived the quake were abandoned to freezing cold temperatures. Some lives were lost because of hypothermia.

Then AFAD, Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency of the Ministry of Interior, sent insufficient numbers of trained rescue teams with insufficient equipment and tools to the field, to an area of disaster in which more than 13 million people live.

Ekmek ve Gül volunteers did not lose any time in arriving on the ground and organize the work for women’s needs.

Dear Sisters all around the world! There is still too much work to do.

Ekmek ve Gül tries to spread women’s solidarity everywhere. We do our best to spot the adequate needs on the ground, organize the necessary support and make sure that it is delivered to our sisters. Meanwhile we report all of these violations, put pressure on the governmental bodies to fulfil their duties and make sure that the government’s sexist attitude is known everywhere we can reach. Now we call on women all around the world. It’s time to strengthen women’s international solidarity!