Student in the world how does it feel? Türkiye (eps. 5)
In this series of articles, we take you to discover schools and universities around the world. How is student life in India, Japan, Turkey or Finland? Answer in this series!
Special episode in which we share the situation of two Turkish students Flow etc Flow from the city of Adana in Turkey, an area severely affected by the February 2023 earthquake
At the borders of Europe, Asia, the Mediterranean and the Middle EastTurkey is one country history. heiress to the Ottoman Empire, the country has been ruled by President Erdogan since 2014 is in a traumatic situation for the population.
Millions of Turks are confronted with the dramatic consequences of a series of earthquakes. Deceased nearby, collapsed buildings, crushed vehicles under the rubble are part of everyday life for Turkish youth. For some, it’s a new life that began in the tents of NGOs that came to help the victims.
“The worst natural disaster of the century in Europe” according to the World Health Organization (WHO)
hit by six earthquakes over a period of 3 days. It’s total 14 million People directly affected by this catastrophe. But the sadness of the missing gave way to anger at the state’s inaction. In fact, victims sometimes still waited under the rubble until 50 hours emergency measures. The result three months later ? We go beyond that 50,000 dead in the country, Come in addition 6,000 missing in Syria.
Also, France the european country have most rescuers deported on site, 204 Exactly.
What everyday life for students?
Higher education in Türkiye is shared between the so-called public universities state universities, of which there are about a hundred in the country, and private universities.
The educational model is based on Europe, the courses are organized in semesters and then validated by ECTS points. Universities have been letting international students from the Erasmus exchange program into the country for a number of years.
However, few foreign students choose Turkey for their studies (less than 10% in 2020). Still, you should know thatthere are courses in English or even in French.
The day after the earthquake, a decree suspended all courses at all universities in Turkey, bringing the event back to life for many the painful memories of the Covid-19 pandemic. Period in which the students already had to get used to the conditions of distance learning.
For VL, we were able to obtain the unpublished testimonies of two twin sisters, Irmak Kavi and Nehir Kavi, pharmacy students at the prestigious college ACibadem University. The 22-year-old young woman experienced the earthquake first-hand.
On February 6th it was in theirs Hometown in Adana that they suffered the first tremors. Located 50 kilometers from the earthquake’s epicenter, Adana was badly hit by the disaster. They tell us what they saw.
It was 4 hours Tomorrow we came back from a night out downtown with friends. We were in the same room with my sister, I even remember scrolling Instagram in my bed. Then lights started flickering everywhere, and finally noise, lots of noise. That was the worst! The unbearable sound of the earth shaking and buildings collapsing. I get out of bed very quickly, covering myself on the floor as best I can. I repeat myself several times “it’s ok, it’s ok”. I remember thinking to myself “that’s just a bad noise”. With my sister we run to the living room to join our family. We were all in a state of total subconsciousness.
river and river lived in a small building that did not collapse but was severely damaged by the tremors. The darkest time for female students seems to be after the earthquake. According to the two sisters, Erdogan’s government is responsible for letting many people die.
The trauma is total…
“The next day we sought refuge with our uncle in Mersin. In daylight we see the damage The trauma is total. The slightest activity was complicated; impossible to communicate, access the internet, get gas, get around or use the phone. In the following days, at every red light on the street, we saw volunteers distributing food to the people. Mutual help among residents was very present, explain it
I want to influence the world
The two young women told us they wanted to stay in Türkiye, You see the future in a good light and want to use this event as a source of motivation.
I want to influence the world, They say. Irmak would like to do his final internship in a pharmaceutical laboratory in Spain. While Nehir wants to work in anti-drug medical research.
A ‘worrying’ future for Türkiye’s youth.
While Brussels hosted an international donors’ conference to rebuild devastated provinces, the cost of the damage is estimated at more than $100 billion.
Locally, the Aid came too late, humanitarian aid for the victims Also. On the other hand, the bulldozers quickly began picking up the debris. Young people like river and river are concerned that a private company has been contracted to remove the rubble and they do not know if every precaution is being taken to avoid further trauma.
Rebuilding Turkey’s cities devastated by the earthquake is a daunting task.
After France info, toxic debris is dumped near wetlands and asbestos is sometimes stored outdoors. The environmental impact could be dramatic.
