🌺💥 Bumbye Buildings in Erdogan’s Turkey: Crashing Down Cause Corrupt Kine Action 🏗️😱🌴
Da building wen start shaking all kine at 4:17 a.m. Firat Yayla stay awake, scrolling tru videos on his phone. His maddah stay sleeping down da hall. Da area along Turkey’s border wit Syria stay known fo earthquakes, but dis apartment complex stay new, supposed fo handle disaster. Dey wen call um Guclu Bahce, o’ Mighty Garden. Mr. Yayla’s own cousin wen help build um. He and his business partnah wen talk big how da complex could handle even da most strongest shaking.
So, as da earth stay heaving fo moa dan one minute, Mr. Yayla, 21, and his 62-year-old maddah, Sohret Guclu, one retired schoolteacher, stay inside. At dat same time, tho, Mr. Yayla’s cousin, da developer, stay jumping fo safety from one second-story balcony. 😮
Wat Mr. Yayla and his maddah neva know was dat da system fo make shua buildings stay safely built wen get spoiled by money and politics. Da system stay bout going fasta ova rules and technical smarts.
Da New York Times wen dig and find dat one developer wen score zoning approval fo da project afta giving ova $200,000 to one local soccer club, wea da mayor stay honorary president. Den, wen residents wen get all upset dat da blueprints no match wat wen get built, dey neva get one good ansah from da local government. Da building inspector wen say dat, even afta da project wen fail its inspection, da developers wen use political pull fo open da doors.
Da apartment complex, in da southern Turkish city of Antakya, stay one concrete and stone symbol of da patronage system dat wen get plenny strong unda President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as he wen push construction boom all ova Turkey fo da past two decades. 🏢🌍
No scared by warnings dat da supa fast development no get enough engineering watching, da officials in da capital, Ankara, wen give local politicians moa powah fo give out construction licenses fo big projects witout any independent professionals checking um out. Da basic suggestions neva wen get off da ground — like civil engineers suppose fo pass one certification exam, fo example.
Dat building frenzy wen make middle-class landowners like da Guclus, who da Guclu Bahce complex stay named afta, turn into developers and landlords. Mr. Erdogan, who going run fo re-election on May 14, wen use construction as one way fo economic growth and one symbol of Turkey’s progress. Local politicians from all parties wen score from da jobs, housing, and unde-da-table payments dat commonly wen come from all dat. 🚧💰
Mr. Erdogan’s office wen tell all da questions fo da environmental ministry, who no ansah da requests fo comment.
Da Feb. 6 earthquake wen show da shaky foundation wea so much growth wen build on top. Moa dan 50,000 people wen mahke as buildings wen fall, crumble, o’ pancake. Guclu Bahce, da mighty earthquake-proof complex, stay one of dem. Dey tink 65 people wen mahke dea. 😢🌏
“So many wen mahke cause dey wen told dat da safest place stay inside, and dey no try fo leave during one earthquake,” wen say Fatma Oguz, whose sistah wen mahke in da collapse.
Fo da Guclu ohana, da earthquake wen get plenny moa personal meaning. Mr. Yayla wen survive, but his maddah, Sohret Guclu, wen stay trapped unda da rubble. Afta six hours, da rescuers wen finally find her. She stay alive, but her back stay broken. She wen fight fo her life fo days, but wen eventually mahke from her injuries. 💔😢
Mr. Yayla stay blaming da corruption and greed wea he tink wen cause da collapse of Guclu Bahce. He stay determined fo get justice fo his maddah, and fo da oddah families who wen lose dea loved ones.
Da earthquake wen reveal da dark side of da construction boom, wea shoddy building practices, corruption, and political pressure wen risk da lives of plenny innocent people. As Turkey stay recovering from dis disaster, da question stay weadah dea can be any change in da system, so dat futah tragedies can be prevented. 🏚️🇹🇷
Da people of Antakya and oddah affected areas stay demanding bettah oversight and regulation fo da construction industry. Dey want da government fo take responsibility fo dea part in da tragedy, and fo put safety and da well-being of da citizens above all else. 🏡👩👩👧👦
Only time goin’ tell weadah dis tragedy can serve as one wake-up call fo Turkey and its leaders, and weadah dey can learn from dis experience fo make bettah choices moving forward. Fo now, da families of Guclu Bahce stay grieving and seeking justice fo dea loved ones, as dey try fo rebuild dea lives afta dis devastating loss.
NOW IN ENGLISH
🌺💥 Collapsing Buildings in Erdogan’s Turkey: Corruption Behind the Crashes 🏗️😱🌴
At 4:17 a.m., the building began shaking violently. Firat Yayla was awake, scrolling through videos on his phone, while his mother slept down the hall. Earthquakes were common in Turkey’s border area with Syria, but their apartment complex was new, designed to withstand disasters. It was called Guclu Bahce, or Mighty Garden. Mr. Yayla’s cousin, who helped build it, boasted about the complex’s ability to endure even the strongest tremors.
As the ground shook for over a minute, Mr. Yayla, 21, and his 62-year-old mother, Sohret Guclu, a retired schoolteacher, stayed inside. At the same time, Mr. Yayla’s developer cousin jumped to safety from a second-story balcony. 😮
What Mr. Yayla and his mother didn’t know was that the system to ensure safe buildings was tainted by money and politics, prioritizing speed over rules and expertise.
The New York Times discovered that a developer obtained zoning approval for the project after donating over $200,000 to a local soccer club, where the mayor was an honorary president. When residents complained that blueprints didn’t match the actual construction, they received no satisfactory response from local government. The building inspector said that even after the project failed inspection, developers used political connections to open the doors.
The apartment complex in the southern Turkish city of Antakya symbolizes the patronage system that flourished under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who fueled a construction boom across Turkey over the past two decades. 🏢🌍
Despite warnings that rapid development lacked proper oversight, officials in Ankara empowered local politicians to grant construction licenses for major projects without independent professionals checking them. Basic recommendations, like civil engineers passing a certification exam, never took off.
The construction frenzy transformed middle-class landowners like the Guclus, after whom the Guclu Bahce complex was named, into developers and landlords. Mr. Erdogan, who will run for re-election on May 14, used construction as a means of economic growth and a symbol of Turkey’s progress. Local politicians from all parties benefited from jobs, housing, and under-the-table payments associated with the boom. 🚧💰
Mr. Erdogan’s office referred all inquiries to the environmental ministry, which did not respond to requests for comment.
The February 6 earthquake exposed the shaky foundation upon which much of this growth was built. Over 50,000 people perished as buildings collapsed, crumbled, or pancaked. Guclu Bahce, the supposedly earthquake-proof complex, was among them, with an estimated 65 lives lost. 😢🌏
“So many died because they were told the safest place was inside, and they didn’t try to leave during an earthquake,” said Fatma Oguz, whose sister died in the collapse.
For the Guclu family, the earthquake had a deeper personal impact. Mr. Yayla survived, but his mother, Sohret Guclu, was trapped beneath the rubble. Rescuers found her alive after six hours, but with a broken back. She fought for her life for days before succumbing to her injuries. 💔😢
Mr. Yayla blames the corruption and greed that he believes led to Guclu Bahce’s collapse. He is determined to seek justice for his mother and other families who lost their loved ones.
The earthquake revealed the dark side of the construction boom, where shoddy building practices, corruption, and political pressure jeopardized the lives of many innocent people. As Turkey recovers from this disaster, the question remains whether there can be any change in the system to prevent future tragedies. 🏚️🇹🇷
The people of Antakya and other affected areas are demanding better oversight and regulation for the construction industry. They want the government to take responsibility for their part in the tragedy and prioritize the safety and well-being of citizens above all else. 🏡👩👩👧👦
Only time will tell whether this tragedy can serve as a wake-up call for Turkey and its leaders, and whether they can learn from this experience to make better choices moving forward. For now, the families of Guclu Bahce are grieving and seeking justice for their loved ones as they try to rebuild their lives after this devastating loss.
