Early impressions

We first went to Antakya in October 2023, 8 months after the earthquake. The immediate international help was over, the  soup kitchens had shut.   Apartments were being pulled down; the air was full of dust and the city smelt like a landfill. People’s lives and livelihoods were mixed in with the scattered rubble. People lived in tents or containers or beside their ruined homes. Schools had just reopened. People were reacting, trying to find a normality, and to cope within this life changing disaster.

One year on

We have just returned from Antakya. The air is still full of dust, permeating everything.  Now the dust is a mixture from buildings coming down and new ones going up. However, whole suburbs are waiting to be knocked down; homes once judged too damaged to repair are now being deemed adequate. The new buildings going up, don’t look like they are for  normal people but the rich. People are coming back to the city. The roads are full of cars and the markets are full of people. But I where are the jobs? Businesses were destroyed and the infrastructure hasn’t been repaired.

Ruined lives

It isn’t just physical things that were destroyed. Families have been ripped apart by the earthquake or the stresses of life afterwards. Marriages have broken down leaving many women vulnerable with no livelihood to support their families, and sometimes with no living wider family.

The Church

Within this chaos and sadness where is the church? What is it doing?

The Turkish church has been amazing. Many people regularly come from other cities to support and serve the churches and communities.  Turkish Christians have settled in the city to serve, and are living in containers amongst the dust, hearing and seeing trauma all around them.  The need is huge. Despite everything, some local Christians stayed throughout, while others had to leave for a while as everything except their lives were destroyed. They are all serving sacrificially and need trauma counselling and emotional and financial support.

Questions

In the midst of this mess, local people are asking questions about Christianity and people are coming to faith. I visited two churches that have started since the earthquake. Both started because of the service, love and compassion shown by Christians. Another church recently had the official opening for their new building which was started before the earthquake. Many of the people it had intended to serve died, but others now attend and many people come to ask questions and see love in action.

Pray

Being in Antakya feels sad. People are resigned and weighed down by the pressures of life and trauma. There are many other awful things happening around the world so it’s easy to forget  such a devastating earthquake happened, but I’d like to encourage you to put a regular reminder in your phones to pray for the church and Christians in Antakya to know God’s healing love so they can share it with others.

Picture  https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/6-subat-depreminde-en-agir-hasari-almisti-sehrin-yeni-yuzu-yukseliyor-42579570