'Sorry, we thought you were thieves': Refugee recounts attack during quake rescue efforts

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A refugee from Syria who was attacked in the southern city of Hatay after the deadly February 6 earthquakes has spoken about what happened on that day.

Speaking at a press conference organized by the Platform for Asylum Seekers' Rights today (February 22) in İstanbul, Usama Al Ali said they had moved to the Antakya district from Reyhanlı, where they were living.

The situation in Antakya was "horrible," with no rescue teams present and people trying to pull their loved ones out of the debris, he said.

Hatay was the second-worst affected city by the earthquakes after Maraş, where the quakes occurred. Over 42,000 people were killed in 10 cities, with the death toll expected to increase further.

"We had no tools, we removed walls with our hands. Most of the ones we initially pulled out were Turks and Kurds. The situation was very bad. People didn't know what to do.

"On the first day, we pulled out as many people as we can. Then some wanted to go to Reyhanlı. We took them to Reyhanlı and came back bringing more young people with us. Because more people were needed and people [in Antakya] were shocked. We thought we should help."

☞ Türkiye hosts over 3.7 million refugees from Syria, according to government figures. Over the past couple of years, anti-refugee sentiment and rhetoric have been on the increase, with sporadic attacks on refugees.

"We didn't sleep at all"

They hadn't slept for four days working to rescue people from under the rubble, and they were not able to help some people because they didn't have any tools, he said.

"There was a need for tools, but we didn't have any. We only had flashlights. There were no electricity and people were frightened.

"We would hear voices from some collapsed houses, but we couldn't do anything because we didn't have any [tools]. Hearing voices and not being able to do anything made us feel so desperate.

"I cried out. I wrote on a Facebook group created by Syrians. 'These people embraced us in 2011. The situation here is dire. Now it's our turn, we should help. We need help,' I said."

"Blue-vested people beat us"

"It was the fifth or the sixth day. A friend of mine, who lost his family under the rubble and left with his child, called me. His child was at the hospital in İstanbul. He said, 'Usama, I had nothing left other than my motorcycle, would you bring my motorcycle to Antakya?'"

"I said I wouldn't. He called me again, and I told him that if he sent me his ID, the license of the motorcycle and a video, I would take [the motorcycle]. Taking the motorcycle, two elderly people and bodies of Syrians, we set off for Reyhanlı.

"The old man's blood sugar dropped. He said he would like to eat soup at a place where there was food aid. We stopped and got soup.

"A person with a blue vest and card shouted at us, 'Who are you? You are thieves.' There was someone speaking Arabic. Even though we said we had come for help, they didn't believe us and attacked us. Then the people there also attacked."

"Soldiers also beat us"

"They lined us up. I thought they were going to search us, but everyone attacked, and those wearing blue vests attacked the most. Among the blue-vested people, some were shouting 'Don't hit them anymore, they are not thieves.' But they beat them anyway.

"After a while, the gendarmerie came. We explained ourselves to the commander, but they beat us as well. I think the gendarmerie beat us so that others wouldn't intervene. I think they meant, 'Don't interfere, look, we beat them.'

"I showed [the gendarmerie] the video filmed by the owner of the motorcycle and the documents. The commander took our phones. He called us one by one and made us turn on our phones. Videos of what we did in the wreckages, he saw them and understood that we were not thieves."

"Sorry, we beat you"

"Then the commander said, 'Sorry, we beat you but we thought you were thieves.'

"We had only gone for help. We wanted to help. We hadn't slept for days. Nobody would think about stealing after seeing those wreckages and hearing the voices of the people. We didn't, either. We only help, but we were attacked." (RT/VK)