Foundation President Hurigil: “Has It Really Been a Year?”
Under the leadership of Deputy Bishop Arsenyos Dahdal, who came to the earthquake region with the blessing of John the 10th, Patriarch of Antakya and All Eastern Orthodoxies, a “Commemoration Mass” was held on the rubble of the Antakya Saints Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church, on behalf of the community members who lost their lives in the earthquake.
After the ceremony where candles were lit and prayers were made, Bishop Arsenyos prayed for the eternal rest of the souls of the community members who died in the earthquake in Antakya Modern Cemetery and accepted condolences with their families.
While the families and relatives of the deceased experienced great sadness during the ceremonies, Bishop Arsenyos Dahdal stated that the pain experienced is indescribable and that they will always support this region.
“We Were History, We Became History”
Writing an article on the anniversary of the February 6 disaster, Fadi Hurigil, President of the Antakya Saints Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church Foundation, expressed his sad feelings in writing with the title ‘We Were History, We become history!’ “There was an earthquake, it was as if we saw the apocalypse with our own eyes,” said Mayor Hurigil, and included the following statements in his article;
“There was an earthquake. Those who were gone, lost their lives, and those who remained, lost their spirituality. In fact, we all died that day, we, the living, did not realize it at that moment. But they buried some of us. Some of us were like living dead. Imagine a cemetery with thousands and tens of thousands of people with the same death dates.”
We Lived That Moment Every Day for a Year
Has it really been a year! But doesn’t it seem like yesterday? Because we lived that moment every day for a year. We always remembered that moment in every aftershock, in every moment of power outage, and in heavy rain. None of our lives deserved this death. Maybe the creator thought that this mortal world was not worthy of them. And he took them with him.”
Hatay People Want to Return to Their Birthplace
The people of Hatay and Antakya now want to return to their own land. They want to return to the place where they were born, where they breathe, where their memories were lived. Even though our hopes are broken, there is no doubt that this path we are walking is a long and difficult one. But even if we stumble or get tired, we will get up and continue to walk again.”
(SAT-7 Türk/İlyas Edip TERBİYELİ-İskenderun)
