A house in Turkey. For many immigrants of Turkish origin in Germany, this is the prospect of a little bit of prosperity in old age. Some lost everything in the earthquake.
Leyla Cöplü’s dream of owning a house in Turkey fell apart within a few minutes. But it took her and her husband Tahsin weeks to understand that. The 48-year-old was born in Germany and has been working in a bakery in Gelsenkirchen-Horst, a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, for 30 years. Her husband is from Adiyaman, one of the cities hardest hit by the earthquake.
Tahsin Cöplü moved to Germany 30 years ago after he and Leyla got married as part of family reunification. A few years ago they bought a house in Gölbası-Adiyaman. Like many people of Turkish origin in Germany, they also dreamed of being able to spend their old age in his hometown, close to his family. They put all their savings aside for it.
But then came February 6, 2023. In the morning hours, there were two earthquakes in Gölbası with a magnitude of 7.0 and more, three tremors stronger than 6.0 and well over a hundred weaker magnitudes. After the earthquakes, there seems to be no more Gölbası. Her house is badly damaged and is due to be demolished. This means there is now no home for them to return to.
Leyla’s husband Tahsin Cöplü has resigned: “I don’t think I have enough time to look at the reconstruction of the city. We no longer plan to spend our retirement in my hometown. Even if we like a new one buy house we don’t have enough money for it. Life in Germany has become expensive, we can’t buy a new house. All the money we have saved over the years is gone.”
So far they have received no help. Don’t count on it in the future either.
The trauma runs deep
There are no exact figures on how many people have the same situation as you. Some buy, some inherit, others share a property within the family.
We have heard of other cases as well. About elderly immigrants in Germany who urgently need the rental income from their house in Turkey to supplement their small pension. From people who were about to fulfill their lifelong dream, for which they have worked hard throughout their working life. But few want to talk to us.
According to the Turkish government, more than 50,000 people have been killed by the earthquake so far. Many consider the number to be embellished. They suspect far more dead as many bodies have still not been recovered. And who can lament about a lost house when there are so many dead to mourn. Maybe that also explains why no association, no organization has answered us so far.
A property in Turkey is more than an investment
Buying real estate in Turkey did not play a major role for the first generation of immigrants. It was all about securing an income for the family back home. Many of the so-called “guest workers” of both sexes adamantly saved up to two-thirds of their income for transfers back home. The life planning was geared towards a speedy return.
That later changed. Many Turkish workers stayed in Germany longer than planned. With the help of building savings contracts, they bought a property or a plot of land in their old homeland. According to a study, both Germany and Turkey are home for about 30 percent of people of Turkish origin. Almost half feel at home in Germany and just as many only feel Turkey as their home. But what does that mean?
A house as a family meeting place, no matter where you live
We are sitting with the Coban family in their house in Berlin. Can Coban is from Antakya, the city that was almost completely destroyed by the earthquake. Maria Coban’s parents come from the nearby village of Cneydo. Her daughter Alicia was born in Berlin, and yet the twenty-year-old says: “For me, home is a magical place, not just a vacation spot. I can immerse myself in my own family history. Where my grandparents’ parents planted the olive trees that we still harvest today.”
Maria Coban’s parents went to France to work. She herself was born there. Her parents still live in France. Can Coban’s parents worked in Germany. He was born here. They have a house in Maria’s village of Cneydo. Just 300 residents live there. But in summer and for the olive harvest, they come back. Then more than 5000 people work and celebrate here. Families, aunts, cousins come back from all over the place. To repair the houses, press oil, harvest and hear the latest from the others.
Often there is no earthquake insurance
The Cobans’ home in Cneydo suffered only a few cracks from the earthquake. You left it to a family that lost everything. The Cobans will be going back in the summer too. Then they just sleep with a cousin, they explain to us.
Her apartment in Antakya is completely destroyed. They don’t have earthquake insurance. Like so many. Can Coban explains it like this: “We knew about small earthquakes, but we didn’t expect them. No authority or insurance company ever drew our attention to it.”
Before the earthquake, they wanted to go to Antakya more often to spend more time in their hometown. They very much hope that the city will be rebuilt.
When we ask the Cöplüs if they knew about the earthquake risk before they bought Adiyaman’s house, they say yes. They have been talking about earthquakes since childhood, but none of them expected such a catastrophe. They don’t have insurance either. Leyla Cöplüs says that if they had suspected something like this, they would not have bought their house there.
“Maybe now people will open their eyes to the election”
Maria and Can Coban couldn’t believe it the first few days after the earthquake. The magnitude seemed completely unreal to them. The family members in Antakya kept them updated with videos all the time. They saw how people who were buried fought for their lives for days because no help came. Rumor has it that the Turkish military secured banks and government agencies instead. Maria Coban is still angry today. “Perhaps people will now open their eyes to the election and vote for a more beautiful, democratic Turkey,” said the 42-year-old.
On May 14th there will be parliamentary and presidential elections in Turkey. So far, the Turks abroad have been a safe bet for the governing AKP party. But after the earthquake, that is no longer certain. Many voters in Germany have noticed how little organized President Erdogan’s help for the earthquake victims was and is.
The Çöplü family never supported the Turkish government, but they lost all illusions after the earthquake.
Not everyone will build a new house again
But the Cobans didn’t just lose an apartment. For two years they worked towards opening their own catering business. Almost all the ingredients come from Cneydo. Everything is self-cultivated, of course. The container was already ready in the port city of Iskenderun. But the earthquake caused a fire in the port. The goods were badly damaged.
And yet Can Coban says: “We have to cope with this. Life is more important than a house or goods.” They would buy a house or an apartment there again as soon as possible.
The Cöplüs family, on the other hand, has given up the plan to return to Turkey permanently.
Autor: Bettina Stehkämper, Aysegul Ilgin
