Forest Fires In Turkey
Nergiz Varli
These big old trees who have birthdays drawn on their bodies with rings, have been nailed to the depths of the earth for centuries and cannot escape. Defenseless in front of the chainsaw, they crackle and fall. Every time they topple, the world falls apart and the birds are left homeless.
Eduardo Galeano
We Turks have a saying; Everything is on fire, which means everything is upside down, extremely messy. Unfortunately, my country’s beautiful forests, lands, trees, birds and insects are just like in this phrase, “turned upside down, in a big mess”.
We are facing with forest fires that have been going on for twelve days, which threatens nature and human life. Although many fires are extinguished today, there are still ongoing fires in five districts of Muğla.
We have neither trees nor the real owners of the forest; animals… Turkey is experiencing such a fire for the first time in its history. Global warming, climate change, temperature above seasonal norms and neglect are the factors that triggered the fire. It’s also possible that it was something planned by some groups who has bad intentions.
Of course, it is difficult to say something after a disaster, because there left very painful images which are too hard to look at. Every tree is black, sooty and dead. People who have been mobilized for days have crossed the mountains and hills to put out the fire. Firefighters, villagers and volunteers, who made an extraordinary effort, struggled against the flames with a superhuman effort without sleeping for days.
The rest of the picture is painfully terrible, everyone is helpless. We began to see such scenes that those who tried to put out the fire with their hands, those who filled a glass or plastic bottle from the sea and ran to the forest, those who carried water with buckets from hand to hand, and those who plunged into the fire; we saw mostly crying, sad, devastated, angry people. Because they were alone.
No one helped them but themselves. There were no planes or helicopters to put out the fire. What was promised was nothing but debt. Consider a local person whose trees burned down; farmers, villagers, children, old and young, they were all left alone with their fate. In such big disasters, people get closer to each other more. Celebrities, singers and actors of the country organized aid campaigns and tried to make our voices heard in the world.
Is it possible to plant and grow thousands of trees in a very short time?
Now, benevolent people are trying to heal the wounds of the people of the region, but their hope and livelihood are burried in that black, bitter burning smell among the ashes.
We are in the midst of a great incompetence. Everyone has crazy questions. The most important thing is why the fire was not put out. The fires that have been extinguished and brought under control are the results of the workings of volunteers, municipalities, local people and pilots of firefighting planes from Spain and Croatia. This benevolence, which created a deep enthusiasm and hope in the public, was shared on social media with many videos of togetherness. With the deepest love and gratitude…
The forest is villager’s house, his home. It is unknown what will happen now, but some people suggest that the forests were burned on purpose. But there is something we know; capitalism cuts down the tree whose shade it cannot sell. Because the burned areas were transferred to the Ministry of Tourism and we were always told that “the forest has lost its quality”, and the burned forests were opened to constructions of hotels and summer houses. One cannot help but wonder who is burning the forests, while living in a geography where nature is constantly being destroyed.
“Trees have deep thoughts, just as they outlive us, they breathe peacefully for a long time.”
Nergiz Varli corrispondent Project Roots Istanbul Turchia
