IMM President Ekrem İmamoğlu, visited the logistics center in Yenikapı, which has been working nonstop since the first day to deliver aid materials to the earthquake area. İmamoğlu came together with the volunteers and answered the questions of the members of the press. Listening to a volunteer's complaint about the internet being cut off and universities turning to online education, İmamoğlu said, “The one who is hostile to the communication line in such a disaster has a weak mind. He is doing a disservice to this country and its people, and he must be held to account legally," he said. Stating that higher education dormitories affiliated to IMM will not be closed, İmamoğlu said, “It is not a job for all universities to switch to the online system, they should be opened immediately. We have to distribute the young people in that region to other parts of Turkey and ensure that they continue their education… We will not expel our young people from our dormitories. We will call here to open universities every day," he said.
Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) President Ekrem İmamoğluTurning into a logistics base to deliver humanitarian aid to the region after the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes, Dr. He made examinations at the Architect Kadir Topbaş Performance and Art Center. İmamoğlu, who has been working non-stop for 15 days for the aid campaign that continues with the efforts of more than 11 thousand volunteers, the help of donors, and the support of IMM and its affiliates, got information from his staff. Meeting with volunteers and İBB employees, İmamoğlu also answered the questions of members of the press.
OUR SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAMS ARE WORKING HARD BUT…
Emphasizing that IMM is strongly in the earthquake zone, İmamoğlu said, “We have over 3 personnel and over 2 vehicles in the region. We have very strong cranes in it. We have vehicles roaming the field with our other very powerful equipment vehicles. We sent a very diverse team to this. First of all, the search and rescue team continues to work very hard, the number of which is close to 1.000. It is still going on, but unfortunately we are nearing the end.”
WE MUST DEVELOP COLLABORATION ON THE FIELD
İmamoğlu gave information about the ongoing health and social services works in the region, İSKİ infrastructure repair services, mobile toilets and showers, two ferries that provide shelter and evacuation in the region, veterinary services, mobile oven and kitchen. We coordinated. 14 Republican People's Party municipalities in Istanbul are with us. We have taken steps to coordinate. We are moving with them again in Hatay. Obviously, we are not satisfied with that. We are trying to do what we can do in cooperation with other municipalities of Turkey, especially 11 metropolitan municipalities. For example, we are the coordinating municipality of Hatay, which is not something we have determined. AFAD had made us responsible for Hatay in the first place… After fulfilling our responsibilities towards our people who lost their lives, we now have to develop the elements in the field, such as health, shelter, nutrition-based and some physical needs, including the education of children. Actually, I'm talking about a sustainable service. We plan this as a minimum of one year,” he said.
EXPECTS THE MOST SUPPORT FROM ISTANBUL
Saying, “We deliver aid by nurturing the citizens' sense of cooperation and coordinating them in a meaningful way,” İmamoğlu said, “We have places in Yenikapı and Kartal. So far, 20 thousand volunteers have taken part. The number of these will increase and should increase. We must grow this solidarity. Of course, we cannot bring back our losses. However, we have a great responsibility for that region. But as an Istanbulite, it is our duty to meet today's needs in the field in the most powerful way, which means Turkey. They expect the greatest need from us. Being aware of this, we continue our work as an institution.
WE WILL ANNOUNCE OUR ACTION PLAN FOR ISTANBUL AT THE END OF THE MONTH
İmamoğlu answered the question of press members as “Is the government causing difficulties for CHP municipalities in the earthquake region?” as follows:
“I don't think it's right to discuss it in public today. Currently, we have an institution called AFAD, which coordinates this work and is the main responsible. We are working hard to help AFAD in any way we can, and we will. Of course, we will make a future evaluation about the deficiencies in functioning or what we should do to make it better. Because, after this disaster, these painful and troubled days, as of the moment when we start to establish the order in the flow of life, if we do not talk or come to a table in order not to experience these events in other disasters, I will make that invitation or I will invite myself. If we don't, bigger ones await us in the future. As a mayor who has undertaken the responsibility of the people of Istanbul, I cannot tolerate this. That's why I think it's better to discuss them at the right time and then share them with you. Now, of course, the first thing that comes to mind is the question of Istanbul after many earthquakes have been overcome… Through the Istanbul Planning Agency, but through other units of our institutions, and by expanding the scientific committee we have formed, we can use our existing knowledge, together with the studies we have done for about 4 years and the previous studies, in an integrated way. At the end of the month, we will appear before the public and we will announce our action plan.”
NO LONGER NATION TOLERANCE
After reminding members of the press that IMM was not invited to the disaster meetings held by the Istanbul Governorship and ministries, İmamoğlu said:
“The nation can no longer tolerate injustice. 45 percent of these cities were built in the last 22-23 years. In other words, after the period when the perception of earthquake increased, 45 percent of the cities that are now destroyed were built in this period. Did we make our coffins? Society is half the job. The sensitivity of the society, the ownership of the society, the ownership of a job by the society… The stubbornness of three or five people or more is the exposure. This can't be either. That can't be either. We are the data I have obtained and the information I have obtained today. 50-60 percent of cities have been destroyed or are about to be demolished. Ekrem İmamoğlu He couldn't attend meetings. We knock down that door and enter. Now there is something that needs to be done very quickly. That is, providing earthquake victims with a safe shelter environment. The issue that is called to start quickly in March is a business without planning. Who does this evil to Hatay? What you call Hatay is a city where you have thousands of years of human history, or Adıyaman or Kahramanmaraş. In other words, the understanding that we will erect concrete buildings immediately without putting forward a plan has already destroyed 50-60 percent of those buildings. Planning first, design first, sociology and psychology protecting people's living culture, history, and spirituality. A sustainable understanding that carries those traces from today to tomorrow. This is not a place to promise a political message, a political rant or an election. Realize that everyone. I suggest the opposite. At the tables where our country's national and international experiences come together, it is imperative that a planning culture be implemented on behalf of the cities. Sözcüset it up like this first. Let's get this started. Construction is an easy job. Contractor work is easy to find. There is also money. These are the things that cannot be found and cannot be done.”
THE LAW SHALLING THE INTERNET SHOULD BE ACCOUNTED TO THE LAW
İmamoğlu, who came together with the volunteers who have been working in Yenikapı Logistics Center for days, said that with the volunteer named Turkey. sohbetIt gave important messages. Sharing his rebuke about the internet being cut off and universities returning to the online system at the time when Turkey's search and rescue efforts began to intensify, İmamoğlu said:
“The issue of slowing down the internet, that position in one of the heaviest moments of the wreckage, is a very painful decision. Whoever made that decision, whoever was instrumental in it, should be prosecuted. Moreover, I personally witnessed how the internet issue works especially in such a disaster because I spent 5 days there, I will say another sad thing. The existence of the internet, when there was no internet in a region, with the arrival of our mobile station and its activation, the message sent from the wreckage began to fall into the pockets of the relatives one by one. It turns out that there is someone living there and he has been texting for hours. Anyone who is hostile to such a line of communication has no mind. He is doing a disservice to this country and its people. There are legal regulations regarding those who abuse the channels. But closing the conditional altogether is not acceptable. This has also resulted in loss of life. Those who made a commitment a year or two ago that we will not have a communication problem in the event of a disaster should definitely give an account to the public. He must also be held to account legally.”
OUR DORMITORIES WILL REMAIN OPEN
“The world set out with education in order to exist and stand up in its most difficult moments. Germany, which was said to be unable to stand up during World War II, stood up by saying that we have universities. It is not a job for all universities to switch to the online system, it should be opened immediately. We have to distribute the young people in that region to other parts of Turkey and ensure that they continue their education. Because 'Get a good education. We have not been able to ensure that they live in safe houses at the moment. We couldn't, let your generation do it. We need to say 'Never compromise from the truth and disciplines'. It was said that schools would be closed, leave the dormitories, instead of raising generations that would not compromise on principles. We will not close our dormitories. We will not expel our youth from our homes. We will call here to open universities every day.”
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