My entire family was wiped out by the Turkish earthquake, but thanks to Sun readers I have something to live for
It was 4:17 a.m. and snowing outside when wedding photographer Mehmet Kaya was woken by his mother's screams.
Their apartment building shook violently one of the most devastating earthquakes in history struck Turkey.
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Within seconds, Mehmet, 24, his parents, two sisters and a niece were engulfed by falling masonry and twisted metal.
His voice was unsteady with emotion and Mehmet told me: “When I tried to escape, my right arm was outstretched and caught by a falling concrete column and my right leg.
“When I opened my eyes, I could see my father's body.
“I didn't want to move my left arm because the body of my six-year-old niece was there.”
READ MORE ABOUT THE EARTHQUAKE
Mehmet and cat Duman were the only survivors.
I didn't want to live, I had lost all hope
Mehmet Kaya
For nineteen hours he lay buried in concrete with the bodies of mother Haline, 44, father Erdal, 48, sisters Tugba, 28, and Yaren, 14, and niece Zeynep.
Mehmet showed me his wedding photos with his smiling relatives and choked back tears as he revealed: “Duman stayed by my mother's side while I waited for rescuers.
“I didn't want to live, I had lost all hope.”
Today, Mehmet is slowly rebuilding his life with the help of YOUR donations to the British Red Crossknown as Red Crescent Islamic to land.
'They have not forgotten us'
They now live with 21-year-old woman Rabia in a 6-meter shipping container in Kahramanmaras and have received food, clothing and hygiene packages.
And the night terrors that plagued Mehmet have been alleviated by sessions with psychologists from the United States charity.
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“I benefited from it mental health support,” he revealed. “I can sleep at night now.”
With the cat Minika, Duman's daughter, in his arms, he said about kind-hearted Sun readers: “I thank them very much.
“I feel happy because they haven't forgotten us.”
A year ago today, three of the tectonic plates that make up the Earth's crust collided, causing an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8. Turkey And Syria.
In Turkey alone, more than 50,000 people were killed and another 100,000 were injured.
About 850,000 homes were destroyed and 4 million buildings damaged.
I reported the apocalyptic scenes from Kahramanmaras in the epicenter of the earthquake.
The once bustling textile city of 570,000, surrounded by snow-capped mountains, looked as if it had been carpet bombed. Nearly 7,500 buildings had collapsed.
Rescue crews were overwhelmed by the scale of the destruction as temperatures fell below freezing.
Beneath what was left of each apartment building, family members and friends frantically tried to dig through concrete rubble with their bare hands.
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement soon arrived on the scene, providing hot meals, blankets and other supplies Baby Clothing.
Generous Sun readers, themselves left with little money due to the cost of living crisis, were quick to help those who had lost everything.
You've raised an incredible £1.9 million for our British Red Cross emergency appeal, supported by the Prince and Princess of Wales And Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
We could hear the children's screams and tears
Hasan Centinkaya
In a so-called 'container city' with temporary housing in the remote town of Pazarcik, I saw last week how some of that money was spent.
Three generations of the Centinkaya family, who are in one of the expedition units, have received food boxes, hygiene items and mental health care since the earthquake.
Visually impaired Hasan, 41, pregnant wife Sultan, 42, and children Hasan Huseyin, 11, Elanur, ten, and six-year-old Ali Mert, all in bed on the floor of the hut next to grandparents Huseyin, 70, and Medine, 63.
When the earthquake struck, the children were staying with their grandparents near the family home.
Papa Hasan recalled: “The vibrations first knocked out electricity, then our building collapsed.
“My wife and I were stuck inside.
“We could hear the children's screams and tears.”
The couple eventually squeezed through a small hole above the door to be reunited with their crying children, who had come looking for them.
Looking up at the sky, Hasan added: “We hugged each other for the joy of being alive.
“The children are still afraid of the earthquake.
“If the wind shakes the container, they panic.”
Last week I saw Red Crescent social worker Ayre Sagikara, 26, handing out sweets to the children.
Thank you Sun readersHasan said: “I wish them a healthy life and happy times with their children.”
In a nearby container classroom, a therapy session took place for a dozen surviving children.
Many remain traumatized, wet the bed and fear entering tall buildings.
Red Crescent psychologist Aysenur Altibag, 23, encouraged them to draw with colored pencils to assess their thoughts.
For some children, art class is a chance to escape.
'Long road to recovery'
Her face painted with smiley faces, seven-year-old Miranur Zenginov showed me a picture she had drawn of space because “she wants to travel there on a rocket.”
Beaming, Taha Nijseytif, five, presented his creation during therapy with twins Muhammed and 11-year-old sister Hale.
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The kindergarten student told me that he had sketched “a beautiful cake.”
He and Mohammed appear to come out dreaming of becoming doctors and doctors cop.
Turkey has more than 370 container cities schools and shops, where more than 430,000 earthquake survivors live.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blamed cowboy construction companies for the earthquake's massive destruction.
He claimed they used cheap concrete and ignored construction standards.
More than 200 contractors and developers were arrested, some of whom tried to flee the country.
Demet Aslan's makeshift flower shop and café now has computer equipment to print labels for her bouquets thanks to a Red Crescent grant.
The mother-of-two, 35, said: “The earthquake destroyed three blocks of flats where we lived, killing 150 of our neighbours.
“Then we had to sleep in a car with another family. My husband and I were unemployed for seven months and had twins to support.
“The help we received has enabled us to restart our lives.”
Red Crescent workers at the earthquake epicenter have their own tragic stories.
Nurse Kubra Timarcioglu, 27, who was away at the time of the disaster, waited at the family home in Kahramanmaras for a week as rescuers tried to save her loved ones.
Sadly, Kubra's parents Mustafa, 58, and Gonul, 47, along with sister Ebru, 23, were killed.
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The medic added: “As a Red Crescent worker, I realized that I could heal myself by healing others.”
She selflessly dedicated herself to supporting survivors posttraumatic stress disorder.
She praised the generosity of our readers, adding: “People say to us: 'Don't forget us, don't forget the earthquake'.”
In October, Kubra married 27-year-old Musab, who also works for the Red Crescent.
Crews who recovered her family's remains were at the reception.
Kubra said: “They were the last and most important guests of our house.”
The Red Cross also helps small businesses get back on their feet with cash subsidies.
Béatrice Butsana-Sita, chief executive of the British Red Cross, said: “We are so grateful to the readers of The Sun for your overwhelming support for this call.
“Without such generous donations, our work to help those affected by these devastating earthquakes would not be possible.
“The road to recovery is long, but we will continue to be there for those most affected.”
This destroyed city is slowly being reborn.
A triumph of human will over the cruelty of nature.
Twelve years of misery in Syria
Disaster-stricken Syria was ravaged by 12 years of civil war and the onslaught of IS when the earthquake struck.
For more than 65 nightmarish seconds on February 6, 2023, the natural disaster devastated an exhausted and ill-prepared nation.
A country that had already seen some 13 million people flee their homes – or even the country – due to conflict now saw as many as 5.4 million people displaced by the massive earthquake.
Paralyzed by the war and with many of the estimated 8,500 dead in rebel-held northern Syria, rescuers were overwhelmed.
The Red Cross has donated money to help local volunteers provide food, clean water and shelter.