35-year-old hearse driver Fatih Baskurt has transported over 400 bodies in Antakya, one of the worst hit districts by the Feb 6 quakes
Fatih Baskurt had already witnessed countless bodies in his 11 years as a hearse driver for the Manisa Municipality in Türkiye's west. He had even seen the pain and grief of those who have lost their loved ones.
Antakya, the central and most populous district of Hatay, is one of the worst affected areas in the twin temblors, which have killed over 47,000 people in Türkiye and Syria. Elsewhere, the broken windows of empty, heavily damaged apartments provide glimpses of a world frozen in time: an overturned brown couch, a broken chandelier, a family portrait on a wall, a baby stroller in what must have been the lounge of a 5th floor flat, torn curtains fluttering in the wind.
Rescue and relief workers have set up camps, offices and tea stalls along major roads. Across from the road where a mobile toilet was parked, Baskurt spoke toHe admits to feeling a sense of humility whenever he reaches a designated spot to pick up yet another body as family members raise their hands to the sky and someone says, “someone is here to take our dead”.
What hurts him the most are the times when he has to transport unclaimed bodies. “Sometimes, I’m the only one besides the imam and another driver to offer the last rites. That’s very sad.”
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