I went on leave for a while. Actually, it's not allowed. I had a health issue to resolve. When my children and grandchildren in Istanbul, whom we had not seen each other for more than two years, were added to this, permission became mandatory. However, due to my adventures that I went to several times, once stayed for 8 years, and sometimes months-long adventures, Istanbul was engraved in my memory as a very difficult city to live in, even though it is a city that I am not a stranger to. Especially for those coming from outside, some districts have become places that should definitely not be visited by car. Despite this, Istanbul attracts many and is attractive. Of course, I have nothing to say to them. However, this time it gave me an image that is hard to live with.
After briefly explaining my 10-day separation, our country has struggled with floods and forest fires in the last 10 days. In this respect, it is impossible for me to describe the sadness I felt while watching these events unfold in the news. Because, although not directly, there were such evaluations among the news about forest fires and flood disasters that one could not help but ask oneself. The first question that comes to my mind is that everybody knows for centuries that a house cannot be built on a creek bed. Generally, in many corners of Anatolia, houses were built far from the river banks. In addition, another issue that has come to the fore with the recent flood disaster is that while almost all the bridges built over the streams centuries ago were cambered, the news that the bridges built using all the possibilities of technology in recent years caused the disaster. Because our ancestors preferred a curved shape in the vast majority of all bridges he built, and at the same time, the effect of the flood has increased due to the instability of the new bridges with the latest state of technology, preventing the flood waters from flowing freely and causing accumulations, while the bridges withstood floods, while the bridges were used in the bridges built hundreds of years ago. Inevitably, there are developments in every field, especially when the quality of the materials used in construction is increasing compared to the past, how, for example, historical bridges and buildings built centuries ago remain intact, while buildings built in big cities complete their life in 40-50 years. Are all the developments that we inevitably see as progress a sign of our going backwards? For example, are the materials used in new buildings insufficient compared to the old ones? If it is insufficient, why are the eyes of the societies painted with some high-rise buildings? In fact, many more questions come to mind.
In the meantime, while it was frequently repeated in the news about the flood, that houses should not be built on the creek bed, the news in a newspaper was remarkable:
"It turned out that 40 buildings destroyed in the village of Babaçay, which was most affected by the flood in Sinop Ayancık, were built 37 years ago as disaster houses after a landslide."
Haven't any investigations and research been done before these houses are built? If it was done, was it not thought by the concerned that the construction of houses in such an area could cause disaster in the future? In short, is anyone responsible for 40 houses destroyed in the flood?
Let me state right away that my point is not to blame anyone. At least to draw attention to the need to take some steps to prevent similar mistakes from being made in the future.
At this point, I would like to emphasize that the unity and solidarity that emerged in the society in the face of the sufferings should not be made the subject of ideological and political abuse. It should not be forgotten that an event that hits me today and hurts my heart may also hit those who abuse the events tomorrow. However, those concerned should not hesitate to inform the public about the results to be obtained from the researches to be conducted on both forest fires and flood disasters.