Turkey was struck by an earthquake and lentils came to its rescue

The destruction of buildings in the hardest-hit areas of Antakya and around Gaziantep’s city center: a rescue worker says nobody is going to survive

Tens of thousands of buildings have been destroyed. Many residents of the hardest-hit areas, including Antakya and the satellite villages around Gaziantep, have fled to areas like Gaziantep’s city center that remain comparatively unscathed.

“There’s nothing for us here to eat,” says a soldier in his mid-20s named Faris, who fled from the hard-hit city of Antakya. “There’s no gas, no heating system, no electricity. We don’t have money or any of our cards.”

He asks to be identified only by his first name because he is still an active member of the Turkish military and risks punishment if he criticizes the government.

Many hundreds of people in these camps are from villages nearby Gaziantep and Hatay. Entire streets and neighborhoods have collapsed in small villages such as Nurdagi.

Late Thursday night in Nurdagi, a rescue worker named Ozgur says his team no longer expects to find anyone alive under the rubble. He works in construction for a large holding company and asks to only be identified by his first name for fear of reprisal for providing assistance without direct government approval.

“There are 30 to 40 people under there,” he says, pointing to a collapsed six-story building in front of him. “But none of them are going to come out alive.”

Source: https://www.npr.org/2023/02/11/1155955553/turkey-earthquake-gaziantep-displaced-people

AFAD’s response to a Kurdish earthquake: The families of Gaziantep, the impoverished neighbor of a displaced population

AFAD has said it has deployed dozens of food trucks and hundreds of thousands of meals, but opposition politicians and members of the public have widely condemned the organization’s response.

Faris says his family can barely even access the bathrooms for the lines, because there are not enough facilities in the municipal stadium for the hundreds of people temporarily staying there.

He, his mother, three sisters, brother and brother-in-law are covered in wounds from falling rubble, with purple circles under their eyes. They had to find their way through the rubble with no shoes on when they were finally able to dig their way out of the collapsed home, and they were covered in deep gashes from digging each other out.

They were told by police in Antakya that they had to evacuate, and that they could find shelter and food in Gaziantep. Faris said he regretted the decision to come.

Several Kurdish migrant families have set up tents in the area. Genco Demir, who organized his community’s move to this field, says he and other farmers have been abandoned by the government. In their impoverished neighborhood of Sekiz Subat, less than 2 miles away, they say no one has come to inspect or repair their homes, damaged by the earthquake.

Hayat Gezer, a 45-year-old woman with a traditional Kurdish tattoo on her chin and a black headscarf, says the group is grappling with the additional stress of legal problems. She says many members of the community were jailed for crimes ranging from theft to aiding and abetting terrorism.

The Turkish government has been involved in fighting with a Kurdish group in the southeastern part of Turkey for more than four decades. This has led to persecution of many Kurds for alleged links to the group.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2023/02/11/1155955553/turkey-earthquake-gaziantep-displaced-people

Soup kitchen of Gaziantep: A community structure serving quake survivors and relief workers in the aftermath of a deadly attack against a soldier

There is a clear desperation in the camp. A man tried to take a loaf of bread from his neighbor’s tent, but was attacked by another man. The young man is being held back by Demir.

Hunger and cold have helped make those in the AFAD camp highly critical of the Turkish government. Faris says he voted previously for Erdogan, who is up for reelection this year, but the soldier vows he never will again.

“It is very quick to cook the lentil soup even in an emergency state. Also it is easy to serve,” says Gülay Bozkurt, a nutritionist and food engineer in a municipal kitchen that used to prepare free hot meals to distribute to 21 locations across the city. Now the kitchen is serving meals to quake survivors and relief workers.

In the area around the city of Gaziantep there are many traditional soups, one of which is a familiar dish. But that’s not the only reason for its popularity.

In short, it’s a supersoup, especially during a humanitarian disaster. It provides comfort to those who have been affected by disasters and is a good source of power for rescue crews. Many of themcan’t cook at home because the quakes destroyed gas and electric lines.

Faruk Izi is the director of the kitchen where Bozkurt oversees the lentil soup. When so many people had lost homes or were afraid to return, two things were essential.

“The most important thing that people need is something hot. He says that they started to cook soup. “We offered lentil soup and tea. Having soup is important in the cold weather.

The soup kitchen is a government structure and it did not sustain any damage. The soup spilled, and that was the worst thing that happened.

Slowly cooks: a guide guide for lentil mashup and oil blending using a long immersion blender, or a seasoned chef’s guide

The chef for 30 years says there is no need to set a timer. “Boil it for a while,” he says. When the lentils are soft, they’re done. Then he mashes them with a long immersion blender that looks more like a power drill than a cooking utensil.

In another pot, he also cooks up cold- extracted olive oil that may retain more nutrition. Some other chefs claim they use liters of melted butter for this step. He adds black and red pepper to the oil. He says to let the spices enter the oil and not to let it get too hot. He puts tomato paste in the oil and spices.