19-month wait in Osmaniye: Tradesmen cannot move to new workplaces

Although approximately one and a half years have passed since the earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş on February 6, which caused great destruction nationwide, the urban transformation and improvement works initiated in Osmaniye province have not reached the desired level. In the process initiated immediately after the earthquake to examine the building stock in the region and determine risky areas, the situation of the tradesmen operating in commercial areas has become a serious problem in terms of social and economic aspects. As a result of the examinations, since many workplaces were considered damaged or risky, it was planned to produce temporary solutions for the tradesmen to continue their current commercial activities, and container trade areas were created in this scope.

Osmaniye tradesmen, who were forced to evacuate their own workplaces either on the grounds of risk within the scope of the urban transformation project or due to damage assessment, were placed in container bazaars established in areas determined by local governments in district and city centers. Although this temporary settlement plan was presented as an urgent solution for the tradesmen to continue their commercial life and it was announced to the public that necessary support would be provided to prevent them from suffering throughout the process, the situation in practice reveals the difficulties in turning these words into reality. The limited physical facilities provided by the containers and the lower customer traffic compared to normal shops have caused a certain decrease in the economic income of the tradesmen.

Despite a long period of 19 months, the most frequently voiced complaint by earthquake victims and tradesmen in Osmaniye is still the inability to move to new workplaces suitable for permanent use. In the statements made by the official authorities at the beginning, it was promised that the stay in the containers would be temporary and that permanent commercial areas would be built as soon as possible and the transition of the tradesmen to their old or new places would be ensured. However, although the promised times have been exceeded, the tradesmen are still forced to maintain their commercial life in container bazaars due to disruptions in construction works or site delivery processes. This situation causes the tradesmen to work in difficult conditions, especially in the winter months, and to experience morale deterioration due to the uncertainty about their future.

The tradesmen, who were placed in containers by forcibly leaving their workplaces, express the grievances they experience through members of the press and statements made to the authorities, demanding a solution. Tradesmen representatives and individual victims warn that the waiting process they have been sustaining for 19 months is no longer at a tolerable level, and that the city economy will worsen further if a concrete schedule and a quick step are not taken on the issue. In the evaluations made, it is emphasized that besides the requests for improving the shelter and working conditions of the container trade areas, it is primarily necessary to deliver permanent and sturdy structures as soon as possible and compensate for the institutional and economic losses of the tradesmen.

On the other hand, this situation experienced in Osmaniye center is also an important indicator for the general situation of tradesmen and business people in other provinces facing similar dynamics in the earthquake zone. In all improvement and reconstruction processes initiated to heal the wounds of the February 6 earthquakes, the psychological and cost effects of bureaucratic and logistical disruptions on victims are increasing day by day. Experts and local observers point out that the prolongation of the container life and the delays in the delivery of permanent houses or workplaces emerge as one of the biggest risk factors negatively affecting the social recovery process after the disaster.