As a nation, we make a great effort to share the pain. We can say that the pain brings us closer to each other, so that we realize the decree that the pain decreases as we share, and the joy increases as we share it.
The last earthquake disaster we experienced had similar results. Our people compete to share the bread they have with the needy, and they do this quite naturally. These are beautiful, but for some reason we are neglecting to prevent pain that can be avoided by taking precautions in advance.
For example, after every earthquake, all kinds of opinions are expressed about how much destruction caused by earthquakes.
At this point, the evaluation made by Hüseyin Alan, the Chairman of the Chamber of Geological Engineers, published in a newspaper, was given under the heading "Someone did it, someone looked at it, someone approved it, innocents died".
When I saw the title, it was seen that the event was clearly expressed in conciseness. Then it turns out that this fact has not been fully realized in practice. Of course, eliminating this defect will not prevent an earthquake from happening. However, the damage it causes can be mitigated. In fact, this is the essence of all conversations and practices.
At this point, I would like to convey the phases of a construction to be made, from the words of the President of the Chamber of Geological Engineers:
“The contractor who will build the building takes the acceleration values prepared by AFAD and has the engineers prepare the survey project. The building inspection agency inspects the project first, then the municipality or, depending on the situation, the Ministry of Environment, gives a building permit. If the project is prepared in accordance with the conditions, including the acceleration values, there is no problem. If it is not prepared, yet it is approved, engineers, building inspection company and public authority are guilty here.”
I think, “Why do buildings suddenly become mounds of dirt?” The answer to the question is also contained in this explanation.
At this point, I would like to briefly touch on another news in yesterday's newspaper.
In the headline, the following words of Zekiye Barutçu Yiğitbaşı, a resident of Rönesans Residence for 10 years, were noteworthy:
“In 2022, I told the manager that there was a crack in the corridor of the building and that the foundation had slipped. He laughed mockingly. I told my neighbors, everyone was insensitive. I got scared too and moved out last year.”
It is not possible for me to know for certain how true these statements are. However, I think it would not be an exaggeration to say that similar insensitivity manifests itself in various fields in our society, and that the society generally behaves in accordance with the understanding of "Long live the snake that does not touch me for a thousand years".
There is a habit of not going too far on things until the end of the pain directly touches us. Unfortunately, once the tip touches, there's nothing left to do. Because when you convey the problems and mistakes to the relevant people, not being able to find a serious contact person leads our people to complacency.
In this respect, not only the state, but the whole society should be sensitized. In short, it is of course good to share when pain arises, but it would be much better to prevent pain from experiencing it as much as possible.