Turkish Woman Loses Legally Owned Land to 'Reserve Area' Designation Post-Earthquake, Lives in Container

Aysel Ertuğrul, a resident of Antakya, Turkey, faces a dire situation after her legally owned land, approximately 1,200 square meters, was declared a 'reserve construction area' following the devastating February 6 earthquakes. Three and a half years later, Ertuğrul, along with her disabled husband, is still living in a cramped 21-square-meter container, awaiting a home that has yet to be provided.

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Our land with its title deed was declared a reserve area. We wanted reconstruction in place, we submitted petitions, but it was not accepted. They took our land, but they still haven't told us what they will give in return.

Ertuğrul recounted her ordeal with tears, describing a life that once included a home, a barn, and livestock on her ancestral land. "Our land with its title deed was declared a reserve area," she explained. "We wanted reconstruction in place, we submitted petitions, but it was not accepted. They took our land, but they still haven't told us what they will give in return."

Adding to her distress, Ertuğrul found herself treated as an intruder on her own property. "I went to the TOKİ housing site built on my land. The guard threw me out. The state took my land with its deed, and the guards threw me out of my own land. My heart burned at that moment. Can a person be a stranger on their own land?"

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I went to the TOKİ housing site built on my land. The guard threw me out. The state took my land with its deed, and the guards threw me out of my own land. My heart burned at that moment. Can a person be a stranger on their own land?

Compounding their hardship, Ertuğrul and her husband face significant health challenges. "My husband receives a disability pension, but he still works because it's not enough. I have three stents in my heart. We take medication every day," she said. "But what makes us sickest is not poverty. It is the taking away of our ancestral land, which is our children's right."

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My husband receives a disability pension, but he still works because it's not enough. I have three stents in my heart. We take medication every day. But what makes us sickest is not poverty. It is the taking away of our ancestral land, which is our children's right.