Stating that natural disasters do not discriminate people as rich, poor, or from one religion or another, treating everyone the same, Head of Sociology Department Prof. Dr. Barış Erdoğan said, “Public awareness needs to be increased. Disaster education must be provided, and social solidarity networks must be established.”
Noting that a collective fear can develop after such disasters, Prof. Dr. Erdoğan said, “In the long term, this can lead to a constant state of anxiety in a part of society. Therefore, just as there are individual therapies for this anxiety, it needs to be resolved with a kind of social therapy. If we are prepared, then this collective fear can decrease over time.”
Üsküdar Üniversitesi Head of Sociology Department Prof. Dr. Barış Erdoğan evaluated the sociological impacts of the earthquakes on the occasion of the February 6 earthquakes' anniversary.
While people were angrier last year, this situation has been overcome this year!
Prof. Dr. Barış Erdoğan stated that he was in Hatay for the 2nd anniversary of the earthquake, where a commemoration took place at 04:17 on the night the first earthquake occurred, saying, “I was here last year too. What’s the difference compared to last year, you might ask? After a loss, there's a grieving process with certain stages. While people were angrier last year, this year, that situation has largely been overcome. There is still pain, of course, but I can honestly say I sense an atmosphere where the situation is more accepted, and people are starting to look towards the future.”
Earthquakes and earthquake regulations can be tackled
Evaluating this change, Prof. Dr. Barış Erdoğan continued: “First of all, an earthquake is a natural disaster, and natural disasters do not discriminate people as rich, poor, or from one religion or another. They treat everyone the same way. However, we see that our perception of these natural disasters varies from society to society, from culture to culture. Of course, as Turkish society, we also have certain unique characteristics, and we perceived it in that way, and I can say that sometimes there were good sides and bad sides to our perception. In fact, earthquakes can be combated with earthquake regulations, and certain measures can be taken. But from a humanitarian perspective, we once again saw that in some cultures, there's a 'nothing will happen to us' mentality, or a tendency to overlook, neglect, or fail to apply certain laws, and that we must learn lessons from this.”
The public quickly organized and rapidly provided aid to earthquake zones
Noting that social solidarity in the country was once again seen to be strong after the earthquake, Prof. Dr. Barış Erdoğan said, “Thanks to our strong social ties, we saw that our people quickly organized and rapidly provided aid to the earthquake zones. This was encouraging in that respect. But of course, certain problems observed in societies after disasters also emerge, or existing problems can become more prominent. Such as migration, unemployment, the emergence of some social inequalities… But the really important point here is this: Some societies are more fragile. When these disasters strike, they disperse and disappear, but some societies, if their ties to each other are stronger, disasters reverse that fragility and strengthen the bonds between them. We frankly saw that these bonds were stronger in our society. Were there no problems at all? Of course, there were problems. But there is this concept we call social resilience. This earthquake, this disaster, showed us that it is strong, but it can be strengthened even further.”
We are in an earthquake country; we must be prepared!
Pointing to the preparations that need to be made individually and communally, Prof. Dr. Barış Erdoğan explained: “Public awareness needs to be increased. Disaster education must be provided, and social solidarity networks must be established. Social awareness campaigns should be conducted. Both public and civil society organizations play a key role here. Especially, children should be raised with this awareness from elementary school age. We are in an earthquake country. If we don’t experience this disaster today in many parts of our country, unfortunately, we will experience it again tomorrow. All scientists, science shows this. This means that if we are prepared for it, our wounds and the suffering we experience will not be so great. This is twofold. First; when the earthquake strikes, yes, there will be some damage. Perhaps buildings will be damaged, we will experience human loss. But it is possible to minimize these. Second, it is important to recover quickly after these wounds. This is what I want to express when I talk about social resilience. We must be resilient. Crises break people, break societies; they are a wound, a trauma. But being able to recover quickly from this is also an important skill, an ability. For this, making individual preparations before a disaster is very important. As individuals, we must take measures for our own safety and for our family's safety. We must make our earthquake preparations. Experts even say that the first 72 hours are very important. That is, we all must make preparations to get through the first 72 hours without any state or civil society aid. But beyond that, after those 72 hours, social preparations come into play. Raising awareness among community members, carrying out infrastructure projects, developing disaster plans and management, but also informing people for their implementation and making preparations at all times is very important.”
If we are prepared for disasters, then collective fear can decrease over time
Drawing attention to what happens after such disasters, Prof. Dr. Barış Erdoğan stated, “As we have seen in the short term, a wave of migration occurred and is ongoing. People are leaving the cities they have been accustomed to for years, leaving their homes. It's not just a home you leave behind; you are actually leaving a cultural structure, solidarity networks that you have created over generations, inherited. This creates great destruction for these people, and older individuals are affected the most. Young people can adapt much more easily to the places they go. Sometimes, a loss of trust in institutions can emerge. This is an important problem because we have to trust each other. On the other hand, with migration or losses, there are economic problems, such as the emergence of unemployment. These are perhaps problems that can be solved in the short to medium term. But of course, these earthquakes are also etched into the collective memory. They can also create a collective fear over time. In the long term, this can lead to a constant state of anxiety in a part of society. Therefore, just as there are individual therapies for this anxiety, it needs to be resolved with a kind of social therapy. If we are prepared, then this collective fear can decrease over time.”
At the time of disaster, we cannot overcome everything alone!
Underlining the impacts of the state, local governments, social services, and support networks on society, Prof. Dr. Barış Erdoğan said: “As individuals, we can help ourselves and our surroundings only to a certain extent. We cannot overcome everything alone. Individually, I can take some precautions against earthquakes or other disasters. I can build my house well. I can even live in a perfect place, but if an earthquake strikes and there’s no quality water, if the sewage system is gone, if food, provisions, etc., don’t reach anywhere, I cannot save myself alone. This shows that we must address earthquakes not only individually but also in conjunction with institutions, and we must trust those institutions. Institutions must also trust individuals. This is a mutual interaction and communication. Because where there is trust, concerns about the future decrease, as in all human relationships. When anxieties decrease, people act with more self-confidence, share what they have more easily, and help each other more. Because if there is anxiety or fear, people often become more defensive, withdraw more, and this leads to the weakening of social solidarity networks. That is why we all need to trust each other, and an environment that will establish this trust must be created before such disasters occur. If we are prepared, if we trust each other, if we trust institutions, the suffering after these disasters will be much, much less, and we will look to the future with much more hope.”
Media should inform society before and after earthquakes
Referring to the role played by the media, Prof. Dr. Erdoğan said, “The media has a very important role in informing society and raising awareness both before and after an earthquake. However, especially after all disasters, exaggerated or false reporting can lead to panic and increased stress in society. Therefore, the media providing accurate and reliable information is an important factor in crisis management. Because any false information provided by the media can both dampen public morale and disrupt aid activities related to earthquakes or other disasters. Major problems usually don't arise in mainstream media, but social media can create issues. Because there is no filtering here, everyone can disseminate whatever they want, and especially nowadays, with technologies like artificial intelligence, the creation and spread of fake images can occur.”
Culture of solidarity strengthens with aid
Prof. Dr. Barış Erdoğan concluded his words by pointing to the culture of solidarity after the earthquake, saying, “The culture of solidarity is strengthened by community members helping each other. This process also strengthens social ties and makes society more resilient. However, the continuity of this solidarity is only possible with a social structure based on trust and cooperation. We need to rebuild this social structure every single day. That is, we shouldn't let up for even a single day. If we do these things, we will continue our path as a society, as a nation, with much stronger social resilience against disasters and earthquakes.”