'Buried in Pain', Hatay cemetery grave builder accompanies earthquake grievers in their pain, Turkey - 03 Feb 2024

A general view on graves damaged in the earthquake at the Modern Cemetery in Hatay, Turkey, 03 February 2024 (issued 05 February 2024). Almost one year has passed since the 06 February earthquake in Turkey and Syria in which more than 50,000 people died. In Hatay alone, according to Mayor Lutfi Savas, some 24.000 lost their lives. As in other areas, those whose bodies could not be found are now considered dead. The state built mass cemeteries to be able to absorb their vast numbers. However, the earthquake did not only destroy houses: in the modern cemetery of Hatay, thousands of graves were broken or overturned. According to Muslim tradition, the graves of people, usually buried as soon as possible after their death, are built by an artisan some time after the first burial. Ali Bosnak, a grave builder who now lives in the original cemetery in Hatay, recounted how he was trapped under the rubble with his wife during the earthquake. After about 4 hours, they were able to get out through a gap in the wall using their own resources. Bosnak, did not receive a container to live in meanwhile even though his house was demolished, but he built a shed in the cemetery with his own means. He now lives and works there. Bosnak said: 'I have worked on about 200-300 graves so far. I worked with sadness, I worked with despair. Some of them were my friends or their relatives, some of them I had never seen before. But I witnessed the pain of all of them. I shared my pain with them. They shared their pain with me. We are trying to get back on our feet'. He added that there is so much work right now at the cemetery, that finishing work on the graves dating back to the February 6th earthquake will take a few more years.