A Young Girl’s Tragic Story After the Earthquakes Centered in Kahramanmaraş
Zehra Altın, who was caught with her family in the earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş, lost her mother Cemile Altın and father Tuncay Altın in the disaster of the century. After this tragic event, the only thing the young girl who was pulled out of the rubble alive, her ring, which was her mother’s only remaining possession, was lost in the Arsuz district of Hatay, where she had recently come for vacation. Her posts on social media to find the ring, which was a keepsake of her mother, managed to reach millions of people.
Following the heartbreaking post by the young girl, Hatay Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mehmet Öntürk and Arsuz Mayor Sami Üstün immediately took action. The two mayors met with Zehra Alin and began searching the beach and sea to find the ring. While the teams searched the beach with detectors to find the ring, divers continued their search in the sea.
“I lost my mother, my father, my grandmother, all of them there”
Zehra Altın, 32, who stated that she was caught in the disaster of the century with her family in the Kırıkhan district, said, “I am a teacher, I was assigned to Istanbul. I was here during the February 6 earthquake. It was my first time home after my assignment. Schools were closed, so I came to my mother and father. I was caught in the earthquake at the family home. On the day of the earthquake, when I was about to go to Istanbul, my ticket was canceled after going to the airport. I was very upset at that moment, but when my mother opened the door and smiled, all those feelings disappeared. My mother said, ‘May it be blessed’ and we went to sleep immediately. The people who were sitting around us during the earthquake had come to our house, we let them out much later. Unfortunately, my grandmother was downstairs and I lost my mother, father and grandmother there. Only I survived the rubble. “I also had the misfortune of losing the ring I had left my mother in Arsuz, where I came for vacation.”
“Even if the ring is not found, there is still hope in me”
Expressing that he did not expect that he would reach millions of people with his post on social media, Alin said, “I did not think that this post would attract so much attention. I would like to thank our Mayor of Arsuz, our Mayor of Hatay Metropolitan Municipality, the friends who participated in the work here and everyone who supported me on Twitter. I wrote it with the hope that someone would find it after me, but everyone supported me, which made me very happy. I feel a great sense of loneliness due to losing both my mother and father at the same time. However, this is the first time I have seen such support. Even though my ring is not found, I have hope inside me, I thank everyone who contributed.”
Arsuz Mayor Sami Üstün, who did not remain indifferent to this heartbreaking post on social media, said, “We attach great importance to the ring that our sister Zehra lost. We are aware that every memory is precious. As Arsuz Municipality, all our teams are searching the beach with detectors to reunite this ring with its owner. I would also like to thank our Hatay Metropolitan Municipality Mayor for his sensitive approach. Diving teams are also making an intensive effort to find the ring. Hopefully, we can protect the memory of our sister Zehra during this process and alleviate her pain a little. Get well soon to all of us.”
