In order to contribute to the recovery process of Adıyaman, which was almost destroyed in the February 6 earthquakes, Adıyaman Active Journalists Association (AGAD) and Global Journalists Council (KGK) organized a panel titled "The Role of Media in the Earthquake" in Adıyaman.
The panel was held with the participation of MPs Resul Kurt and Mustafa Alkayış, Mayor Süleyman Kılınç, KGK board members and provincial representatives, many institutions, organization managers and NGO representatives.
The opening speech of the event, which started with a moment of silence for the Great Leader Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, martyrs and veterans, and those who lost their lives in the earthquake and the reading of the National Anthem, was made by AGAD President İbrahim Aslan.
'ADIYAMAN IS OWNED'
Thanking the participants for their support, Aslan stated that what happened after the February 6 earthquake showed once again how derelict Adıyaman was and said, “We saw our fellow citizens who died alive due to the aid that did not arrive for days. However, we have seen governments that cannot do anything. If there is an opposition problem in a country, there is not much chance to see the shortcomings of the government. I believe that everyone in this country should question themselves after the earthquake. We, as the press, did not talk about the problems of this country. We did not talk about whether representatives of political parties, non-governmental organizations or associations, or managers should be held accountable. We have to bear the burden on ourselves. Unfortunately, we understood how important the press is when we saw that Adıyaman, where the most death and destruction according to population, was not even mentioned in the subtitles for 6 days.
'CHILDREN DIED IN İSİAS HOTEL WERE ON THE AGENDA, BUT ADIYAMAN'S CHILDREN WERE NOT ON THE AGENDA'
While the death of 6 Cypriot children in the February 35 earthquake was on the agenda throughout the country, no one mentioned the deaths of thousands of our children and tens of thousands of people in Adıyaman. Especially our colleagues in the mainstream media did not talk about this for 6 days. As I say these, I feel ashamed of myself as an NGO president, and I apologize to all our fellow citizens who passed away. We have to face the facts. We saw the importance of the press. We experienced this. "We are fighting on this issue to prevent those living in other countries from experiencing this," he said.
'WE HAVE NOT TALKED ABOUT THE TRUTH OF THIS COUNTRY FOR YEARS'
Aslan said that the delivery of 6 thousand houses, while 8 thousand houses were demolished in Malatya and 9 thousand houses in Gaziantep İslahiye, revealed how derelict Adıyaman was, and added: “Because we did not talk about the realities of this country for years. We could not write that our fellow citizens died in accidents on the Çelikhan road. We did not question the elected officials and the rulers. We could not write about why Adıyaman tobacco was sacrificed to big companies. If we had written, talked and questioned, perhaps this country would not be in this situation today. We want to speak as we wish, but we cannot. We have become a country that questions what will happen to us if we speak out. "We have experienced, we are experiencing, we will continue to experience that if we do not put the blame on ourselves, if we do not speak and announce these facts, this country will not develop," he said.
'BARONS LEAVED ADIYAMAN ON THE MORNING OF THE EARTHQUAKE'
AGAD President Aslan, who also rebelled against the abandonment of the city to its fate, said, "On the morning of the earthquake, Adıyaman's barons, those who sucked its blood, left this country." He said, "They all took their children to the metropolitan cities. While they sent their children to private school there, we stayed in this country. If we are swallowing the dust and smoke of this country, we need to question and talk about these things. If the local media in Adıyaman had been very strong and had survived, perhaps we would not have buried our loved ones alive.
All our buildings belonging to our 3 daily newspapers and television were demolished. No administrator, NGO, anyone called and asked. Because in Adıyaman, just like in 81 provinces, none of our colleagues are wanted to survive. Today, while you are experiencing all kinds of problems in this country and cannot find a service for your children, the rich who send their children to private schools with official vehicles should be questioned. We learned how important local media is when we buried all our loved ones alive on February 6.
'THOSE WHO PROVIDED FOR PALESTINE DID NOT TALK ABOUT ADIYAMAN'
We have seen that we have entered the monopoly of the mainstream media, and that the mainstream media only broadcast in the province they go to upon the instructions of the bosses of the institutions they are affiliated with. It is clear which political party the organizations that broadcast Hatay live 24 hours a day are from. It is known who brought Kahramanmaraş to the agenda. Those who live in this country, stand with the identity of this country, and have all the means were too afraid to say that tens of thousands of people were trapped under the rubble. NGOs and associations could not express this. I condemn those who massacred children, no matter who they are, in Palestine. But while Adıyaman is in this state, those who make no statement are protesting in front of Democracy Park for Palestine. Those in Palestine are also human beings, but during the February 6 earthquake, we buried our loved ones in mass graves without shrouds in Adıyaman. It is the helplessness of Adıyaman's NGOs, who are fighting for Palestine, not to make any statement about the February 6 earthquakes. We want those who do all kinds of flattery for all kinds of positions and positions to be questioned.
'As long as there is an opposition that cannot express the problems, the government will not see its mistakes'
We hold out a microphone and say 'Speak', but they don't speak. As long as there is an opposition whose members of parliament do not deign to come here, do not hold a group meeting, do not stay here for two days, and cannot express the problems experienced in the container, the government will not see its mistakes. While we are losing our loved ones, when we are faced with aid not coming for days, when people are in need of bread and water, politicians and NGOs who cannot tweet or speak should have left these positions.
We, as the local press, could not question the NGOs, the government and the opposition doing politics in this country, and we could not point out their mistakes and mistakes. With fear of bilateral relations or what will happen to us. We are all destroyed. What could be more than an earthquake? This country will not develop unless we confront those who do not share our pain with us and those who say 'We own this country'.
'NO ONE SUPPORTED THE LOCAL PRESS TO SURVIVE'
There is a lot to say, but we saw here how important the local press is. Nobody supported the local press to survive. When the local press and institutions are strong, mistakes can be questioned. The press, which does nothing but follow the business and does not question the managers and directors, has nothing to give to this country. If we are fighting for Palestine while people waiting for their children in front of the rubble cannot speak, the greatest betrayal is being committed against Adıyaman. The media did not even use subtitles for 6 days and we lost tens of thousands of our loved ones. Has the reason been discussed? Not talked about? Because if the NGOs of this country fight just to flatter the politicians and the government, we will always be the losers. "We saw how important local media is during the earthquake," he said.
'THE ENTIRE CITY WAS UNDER THE DEBRINES DURING THE EARTHQUAKE'
Moderator journalist Necati Atar said, “We learned what happened in the earthquake and how it came to Turkey's agenda or did not come to Turkey's agenda after the third day of the earthquake. 04.17 minutes after the earthquake occurred at 20, a national television channel contacted the governor of the time and asked about the developments in Adıyaman. The governor said that he could not reach the teams and called on state units, especially AFAD, to help Adıyaman. When the reporter of the relevant channel asked whether damage assessment studies had started, the governor said, "We cannot reach anywhere." But these statements were never broadcast on any channel again. We here are the ones who survived under the rubble because all of us, the whole city, was buried under the rubble. None of us knew what condition the city was in. The electricity was out. We were trying to reach our relatives, but there was no communication. When daylight came, we saw that the city was destroyed as a whole. We didn't know what was going on because there was no electricity or internet. Adıyaman is the city whose name has been mentioned among 11 provinces since the first moment of the earthquake, sometimes it is said that 'He experienced his neighbor's earthquake', but thousands of people lost their lives under the rubble, were buried without shrouds, and kept the bodies of their loved ones in the trunk of their vehicles for kilometers to bury them in the ground. However, after the images taken in Kahta, it was said that 'Life has returned to normal in Adıyaman'.
'THEY AVOID RESPONSIBILITY BY SAYING THE EARTHQUAKE HAPPENED IN 11 PROVINCES'
Having experienced all this, I would like to thank AGAD for organizing this panel and the KGK managers for participating. The news made by the media is of great importance in sending the necessary aid or search and rescue teams to a province. Even our esteemed governor was silent 20 minutes after the earthquake when he wanted to announce the extent of the disaster in Adıyaman to the whole of Turkey. We could not make any effort to contact anyone because of the lack of communication and our inability to leave the wreckage. We only learned on the 2nd or 3rd day that Adıyaman was mentioned in the national media as one of the cities that felt the earthquake, not experienced it. The fallacy that the earthquake occurred in 11 provinces and that the great disaster hit 11 provinces needs to be put to an end. The earthquake occurred only in Adıyaman and Hatay as city centers. If we count Kahramanmaraş and Malatya among the provinces that experienced earthquakes, the state's resources were directed to Adana, Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa and Diyarbakır. At the end of the third day, aid started to arrive from here and there. However, while there was no major destruction in these cities, the directing of the state's resources to the provinces that did not experience the earthquake and the constant news that disasters occurred in 11 provinces were an example of not being able to do what was necessary in the places that needed to be intervened first and of avoiding responsibility. "Tens of thousands of people who lost their lives in the earthquake that occurred in Adıyaman on February 6 were ignored and recorded as statistics," he said.
DIM: A HUGE TRAGEDY
KGK Chairman Mehmet Ali Dim said:
“It's a huge tragedy. Whether you lived here personally or we witnessed it from afar, on television or through social media. Of course, it is not possible for us to feel this tragedy as deeply as you do. No matter how much we empathize and say we can understand, we would be lying. As a journalist, I was in the earthquake zone from the second day. I went to Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Şanlıurfa region. I was going to come here, but since the roads were blocked or closed, we left the region to come to Adıyaman and Malatya later. We came to Adıyaman on the 10th day of the earthquake. We had the chance to observe the painting in Adıyaman. After the 6th day, we saw Adıyaman reflected on the screens with our own eyes. It was a source of pleasure for us that Mayor İbrahim Aslan broadcast his television in the tent to make the voice of the city heard after the earthquake. The first information came about Kahramanmaraş on the night of the earthquake. Who would have thought that such an earthquake would occur in 11 provinces? We could not imagine such an effective earthquake in such a large geography. When the day dawned, it became clear that the earthquake hit Adıyaman, Hatay and Kahramanmaraş the most. Of course, the media are the most trusted and looked after organs in social events and natural disasters. At this point, it becomes important how objective the media is and how sensitive and responsive it is.
We had 4-5 journalist friends, who were also our members, following the earthquake from the beginning. While one of them was telling about some rescue efforts, he did not mention them at all the next day, but it was not stated that they could not be saved. Instructions come from above. We know where such instructions come from, but they should never prevent such pain. We are all experiencing an unbearable tragedy together, but it would have been beneficial for the media to present this situation more openly and clearly rather than through censorship. It is said that Adıyaman's situation was not even mentioned in the subtitles for the first 6 days, but Malatya, for example, also complains about not being covered enough in the media. In fact, considering the population, the province that suffered the most in the earthquake was Adıyaman. While 3 thousand buildings in the world have collapsed, is there a state that can send a rescue team to all of them at the same time? I don't think there is a power that can react immediately to such a major disaster and pull people out from under the rubble immediately. You have to be realistic. Cancer kills, yes, but the important thing is not to have cancer. Earthquake is like that too. Buildings kill people, not earthquakes. We must build earthquake-resistant cities. This might not have happened if we had not contributed to being unprepared for this earthquake with the construction amnesties. Zoning amnesty is only available in our country. In our country, everyone benefits from the zoning amnesty, regardless of such criteria as what kind of cement and sand is used, whether the iron is sufficient. Then, when the earthquake occurred, we lost many of our people. "From now on, we hope that there will be no zoning amnesties and we will build buildings in accordance with international criteria."
'WE WERE HAPPY TO NOT SEE ADIYAMAN IN THE NEWS...'
Journalist Necati Atar also said that how the media presented the earthquake in Adıyaman to Turkey's agenda can be understood from the cry of a mother who lost her child in the Isias Hotel disaster, and said: "This mother said that she was happy when she did not see any news about Adıyaman on the morning of the earthquake, but then she told what she experienced when she realized that the whole city was destroyed."
Much later, we learned about the media's news about Adıyaman and what was happening on social media about the disaster in Adıyaman. In such cases, information pollution may occur. "Malicious posts, political and ideological posts can be made," he said.
'THERE SHOULD BE NO NEED TO SHOUT AND DEMAND HELP BY STAYING ON THE AGENDA'
SODİMER President Prof. Dr. Levent Eraslan said, “The one who shouts has revealed himself and the one who shouts the loudest is the Mayor of Gaziantep. Because they have a diaspora. Seriously, Adıyaman is left behind. From where? Because the people of Adıyaman do not use social media, they do not have the power to create the necessary agenda, just like Hatay's Kırıkhan. There should be no need to shout and demand help by staying on the agenda. This state must have macro policies. There is an organization called AFAD. What is its companion city in the AFAD plan? Twin earthquakes are not in the literature. Of course, there are movements, but people are in containers, in difficult conditions. Unfortunately, on the anniversary of February 6, people came to the earthquake zones to take photos. During the earthquake, we saw both the good and the bad sides of social media. No one was ready for such destruction and destruction. Social media organized quickly. Aid was provided. But from the second day onwards, we were divided like apples. There is no point in messing with social media. We must use it properly. Social media is a structure where we are online 3 hours a day.
'DISASTER JOURNALISM SHOULD DEVELOP'
This country is a disaster geography. Then we need to make disaster macro planning. This does not happen with AFAD because AFAD is in Ankara. All signatures are made there. You will either create strong fields region by region or reorganize it. Disaster journalism must develop. Disaster journalism is a branch of journalism that disseminates information. Journalists working in this field have important duties such as informing the public before and after the disaster, raising awareness and supporting disaster victims. Traditional media failed during the earthquake. The driving force of social media has made the decision maker take various decisions. Who signed the building controls, ground surveys, sand and iron permits of the collapsed and crumbled buildings? I am building a small hut in Ankara, there is no document left that I have not submitted. How were these buildings built? Rönesans How can the mayor say to the contractor of the site, 'This is a good man'? The contractor can say, 'The building did not collapse.' Psychosocial tent story. They give him medicine and send him away to calm him down. Psychosocial support needs to be given in the best way possible. The learning deficiencies of these children, psychosocial supports, immigrants and returnees need to be processed and addressed by the media. Disaster journalism is a very important field. There are basic principles here. The first is accuracy. How many people died in the earthquake? This is still Turkey's problem. We will tell the truth, explain it correctly and be fast. Speed and controlled information are very important in disaster situations. We must be clear and simple. We must speak in a language that everyone can understand and ensure sensitivity. For example, they told us for years, 'Get under the table', and those who went under the table died. This needs to be taught to everyone. I hate to give the example of Japan. Are the people there smart and we are stupid? Why don't we make a move? This is a matter of consciousness. Decision makers have a great duty of honor. If you don't do these, you won't be able to find anyone to tell them about in the next earthquake. "The Zoning Law should be passed as soon as possible and all stakeholders should contribute to this law," he said.
'WE CANNOT GET ANYWHERE BY PLACING THE BLAME ON EACH OTHER'
Finally speaking, journalist Nalan Yazgan stated that she was also an earthquake victim and said:
“I experienced the 1999 earthquake, but unfortunately we have not made any progress since then. We failed as both the media and the state. We can't get anywhere by blaming each other. The important thing is to self-criticize and identify who did what and to correct it. We should do this not only in local media but also in mainstream media. Before the earthquake, we were always seeing news in the mainstream media saying 'The Great Marmara earthquake is coming'. The topic was always about Istanbul. But we know that there is a danger of earthquakes in every region of this geography. We need to be prepared for this in both mainstream and local media. The role of the media is very important, the media must support the state's planning. Local media should contribute to informing the public, raising awareness and raising awareness. For example, the life triangle is very important. More work can be done on television to raise public awareness on this issue. For example, in the West, children are raised with drills at school. We also need to expand such exercises. Now we have always talked about zoning, I am against both zoning peace and amnesty. We don't know where we will be during an earthquake. Then this is a social responsibility. We all need to research and demand. A politician who aspires to run for local government in Avcılar says, "If you vote for me, I will give another floor to each building." It is said that Avcılar will be at great risk in the expected Istanbul earthquake. He makes such a promise in such a place, but this is a matter of supply and demand. Voters also need to be a little more conscious. People sometimes don't even know what information they need or where to get it. We must ensure that space is reserved for informative publications. Now everyone uses social media. People are posting positions from under the rubble. But when you cannot use the internet or communicate during a disaster, using social media is of no value.
Where telecommunication companies install their base stations is as important as the internet and social media. When buildings collapse during earthquakes, base stations also collapse and communication becomes impossible. Base stations should not be on buildings, but in separate towers made of solid steel, so that communication does not stop and can continue in case of disaster. For this, the press can work to create the necessary awareness.
Also, our collective memory is very weak. But it is like that in the world too. As the media, we have a very important responsibility in protecting and preserving social memory. Instead of highlighting flashy news, even though it may not be sympathetic, we need to continue to raise public awareness, remembering that we are an earthquake country. Social support and solidarity after the earthquake is also a very important task for the media. But Adıyaman was really only known for Isias Hotel. I didn't know there was such a big destruction because I didn't hear about it. We didn't know how widespread the destruction here was. "We need to talk about what we can do from now on."
'TRADITIONAL MEDIA HAS ACCOUNTABILITY'
Finally, KGK Chairman Dim, who spoke at the closing, said that social media and traditional media have very different usage areas and said, “On social media, people can write and delete whatever they want. But there is no such thing in traditional media. We are always being judged and held accountable. Traditional media has accountability. I have to be cautious, I have to act accordingly and inform the society. There is no point in pairing traditional media with social media. Social media is one of the tragic situations we face in this century. It is useful when used correctly, but dangerous when used incorrectly. "The dose is important," he said.
