ANTAKYA, Turkey - Antakya, the once-thriving city of civilizations now lies in ruins after it was shaken in the February 6 earthquake. More than three weeks on, quake victims in the city accuse the government of being negligent and failing to come to their aid. Hundreds of people leave the city on a daily basis. Government teams are clearing mounds of rubble that were once homes of the people of Antakya, a city that saw around half of Turkey’s quake casualties. Mehmet Ali Kartal has been waiting 26 days for the body of his uncle to be recovered from under the rubble. . "For the first two days, no one came to our aid. I tried to get out from under the rubble. Then I went to call my family and friends. Also, we survived the first 2-3 days with our own efforts," Kartal said. Many others in Antakya have similar stories. Guclu Bahce was a luxurious, modern building in Antakya that was built three years ago. Now it is a mass grave for at least 75 people. Hakan Dincer, who owned an apartment in the building, criticized the government's policy of "building amnesty" that he said led to the disaster, allowing construction companies to ignore safety requirements. According to the mayor of Antakya, around 20,000 people lost their lives in Hatay province due to the earthquake and 80 percent of Antakya’s historical district was destroyed. Although many people have left the city, they are hopeful that one day they will return. A destructive 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the Kurdish city of Kahramanmaras in Turkey on February 6, with its impact also ripping through neighboring Syria. Several other quakes and frequent aftershocks have continued to shake the region. More than half a million people have been evacuated from quake-hit provinces, according to Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency. Adana, Adiyaman (Semsur), Diyarbakir (Amed), Gaziantep(Dilok), Hatay, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa (Riha), and Elazig provinces in the southeast were affected by the tremors. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan weeks ago promised to construct nearly 200,000 permanent houses in the 11 quake-stricken provinces within a year, adding that his government has mobilized all resources to meet the urgent needs of victims.
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