Turkiye through stories of suffering and love

The rescue efforts in Turkiye are about to conclude amidst despair, pain, sadness, but also love, solidarity and help in the face of the biggest earthquakes in the country's history.

The death toll from the earthquakes that took place in Turkiye on February 6 reached 40,868 and around 100,000 injured, the head of the country’s disaster management and emergency agency, Yunus Sezer, reported on Sunday.

Stories like those of Cuban doctor Abel Aguilar, a member of a health brigade sent to Turkiye to provide medical care, come to light in the midst of the pain, when reconstruction is also being discussed.

The doctor, like many of his colleagues, walks along the snowy and ruined streets together with a nurse and a psychologist in search of the wounded, under the sad gaze of those who lost everything, but keep the most important thing, life.

On his Facebook page, Abel receives expressions of admiration and affection that gratify Cuba whose recent history is plagued with these episodes of humanism. The Cuban Government was one of the first to respond to the request for aid issued by the Ankara authorities.

There is already talk today of a simultaneous call for tenders in the 11 provinces most affected to determine the safest location for the new buildings to be constructed, according to the Minister of Urban Planning, Murat Kurum.

The two disasters of last February 6 partially or totally destroyed 84,000 buildings, according to a press conference in the city of Adana (south); these cities were declared disaster areas and placed under a state of emergency.

In addition, it is estimated that nearly 14 million inhabitants were affected by the earthquakes and their aftershocks.

The pain persists, the hopes of finding more survivors are exhausted, but in the sad memory there will be a space for those who overcame suffering and gave love.