The sound of silence in Osmaniye is something that no one wants to hear.
This 250,000-strong community was severely damaged by the seismic, resulting in dozens of apartments blocks and offices that were reduced to disorderly heaps.
Many people are now buried under the rubble, and their family and friends want to rescue them.
They are aware that it will require a lot of activity.
We heard heavy machinery, including huge diggers and scoops, in a corner not far from the center.
A member of a rescue and search team then called for silence on the spot.
He yelled, “All quiet!” One hundred people did what he told them.
Another rescuer was called to the cracks between broken concrete slabs. “Can you hear my voice?” Tap the wall to hear me.
His desperate questions were unanswered, and the silence that hung heavy over us all was a sign of his despair.
The area was occupied by five apartment blocks, but all of them had fallen in circular piles.
Residents were asleep when the earthquake struck, so it is unlikely that anyone survived.
“It seems like there were many people who lived here.” Frut Soycan, a local resident, was my answer.
He replied, “When you look around this area, I’d guess there were approximately 150 people living there, but we cannot be certain, only Allah knows.”
“Do you believe anyone could have survived?”
“Those who we have already found were dead.” If we find someone alive, they have ambulances waiting to transport them.”
The outlook was grim and hope was in decline.
We listened to the wailing of those around us, desperately seeking a ray of light.
As they stood still on a pile, a man shouted in fury at a search and rescue team.
A woman started to cry and her frustration was revealed when she said, “Yesterday, the governor came here, just to be seen, but he doesn’t do anything.”
“There are three-year olds and five-year olds in these buildings. But they do nothing.”
She cried.
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Residents of Osmaniye are looking for activity. They need supplies and rescue professionals at hundreds of locations around the city.
They want to hear the sounds of people being pulled out of the rubble, the cheers and roars, as well as the joy of family reunions.
Silence is something that very few people wish to contemplate.
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