Epicenter : Golcuk

We have lost so many things in the earthquake that we have experienced recently... Then a second one came... It has been 6 months since then.

While we were getting concentrated on aid scandals, religious and political exploitations, permanent or temporary accommodation projects, etc, we missed one thing : We have experienced an earthquake and lost things that we will never be able to bring back... Not only many families passed away or broke apart but also our streets with whom we shared our dreams, our play gardens, our schools were lost... And they will never come back again.

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Golcuk... A city of Republic... Established in 1925... It is the heart of the dockyard and the Navy... Golcuk had hosted the American Military Base during Cold War, too...

Ismail Barış – Mayor - speaks

Centrum behind the Naval Base embraces the Gulf between Kavakli and Yuzbasilar... Golcuk lies inside the sea but away from her by heart now for the unexpected betrayal her closest friend, the sea, has committed... That is the destiny of Golcuk...

USKUDAR DISASTER

On March 1, 1958, students from Golcuk were at their schools in Izmit until 12:00. Noon boat, named Uskudar, was full of teenagers returning their homes after a usual school day. A strong wind peculiar to the month of March, the rough sea, an old boat and over 500 passengers... The end was a disaster. Almost all of the high school students from Golcuk lost their lives in that nightmare.

What made it turn out to be a disaster is the Turkish style negligence

Young Golcuk buried her first martyrs with a big ceremony

Only after this disaster, the project to build a high school in Golcuk
was put into action and Barbaros Hayrettin High School was born.

Muslu Bekar – Principal of Barbaros Hayrettin High School - speaks

The new building could serve only for 30 years. It has been damaged
heavily...

Ex President of School Association, Yusuf Ergun, was saved after 15 hours... Hospitalised 5,5 months... Although he has just been released he does not leave the school alone

When we consider the fact that approximately 1000 elementary and secondary education students have been lost and many school buildings have been heavily damaged in the boundaries of Golcuk, we face the painful truth that the loss of Barbaros Hayrettin High School is neither less nor more than the others'.

The Day Before Quake

There was a group of youngsters right in front of Barbaros Hayrettin in Kavakli beach on August 16. They were having fun and singing cheerful songs... Seda made that night perpetuated with her shooting...

Seda Kosar - Amateur Cameraman

Seda : I was feeling a little bit restless that night, it was somehow
boring. My parents went to the beach. I followed them and made some shooting.
---
I wish I had been able to view the very moment. After the incident, I wanted to make some shooting of the area but then anticipated of being misunderstood. So, I did not.

Voice Over: Seda's Golcuk has been lost just like others'

Seda: There was a place where I used to take a rest every evening after work. Now it is under the sea.

Voice Over: In order not to forget the slightest detail of August 99, Seda used both her pen and her camera.

--

Presenter: 2/3 of Golcuk people lived in block of apartments. 64 % of this
population either died in the earthquake or left the town. This was the
biggest immigration that Turkey has ever witnessed. More than half of
the population of Kavakli, Dumlupinar and Merkez neighborhoods of Golcuk was lost to death in the earthquake.

‘Farewell Gölcük!’

Voice Over: Many of the survivors preferred Istanbul to settle in. The rest either went where they came from or went abroad. At the moment, 1/3 of Golcuk people is unemployed. According to a survey made, Golcuk people trusts in himself first then in God second for building a new life.

Ali Yılmaz (President of GADER): 30 % of the whole loss caused by the Earthquake is in Golcuk. Other affected regions are on their knees now. Golcuk could not succeed even this. We are still crawling.

Voice Over: Daily paper Golcuk Haber, like Dogus which is not being published anymore and like Ortam which needed 2 months after the earthquake for re-operation, was the sound of Golcuk people. Golcuk Haber has started again in November 12, right on the day when the second big earthquake happened...

Nurettin Şenemre (Journalist- Gölcük Haber) : Our office and facilities had been damaged very heavily which caused us pause till November 12. We tried our best to be on the stage again right on this date in order to announce the inauguration of GADER (Golcuk August, 17 Association). And the second biggest earthquake happened.

LOST CITY

Voice Over: Golcuk was a town with dreams. Never demanded to become a province. It had some shortages but could get most of it especially in 90’s. Nobody had ever imagined something like this could happen.
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Here are the photographs of the past and here is the Lost City...
---
Life is full of surprises... Who could be ready for a surprise like this...
The first flat was collapsed in such a way that it is not possible to realize without several looking back.
---
This was the Vocational School...
---
This was the street where we celebrated the National Days with joy...
--
This Ataturk statue is the one and only common memory for us all... There is almost none of us who did not try to slide through its pedestal or wrapped around his leg... Now almost all of the buildings surrounded it disappeared.
---
Ozlem and Bahadir have been married for 1,5 years. They were lucky enough to get out of the building before the fuel oil tank of the residence exploded and started to burn together with the rest inside. The location where the block stand a few months ago is now called Manisa Neighborhood!
--
Özlem: That was an incredible shake. I could hardly understand that it was an
earthquake. That 45 seconds was like 45 hours. I was scared to death and was shaking. Then I have found a hole to get out. First my husband wanted to jump to hold me, because we were living on the second floor of a 6 floor block. He did not need to jump, though. As soon as he took a step he was on the ground.

Voice Over: Ozlem is a fan of pop star Sezen Aksu,

I was collecting photos, lyrics, cassettes, TV shootings of Sezen Aksu. All burned together with my wedding pictures. This is what I am sorry about most.

Presenter: One gulf, two disasters... The sea and Golcuk are this much close to each other and Golcuk is this much broken by the sea. New Golcuk will be established on the mountains far away from the sea. Remaining part of old Golcuk disappears one by one. Meanwhile, wounds to be cured urgently leave the real authorisation who made the earthquake turned out to be a disaster behind the curtain. Turkish style negligence belongs both to the ones who govern and who are being governed... We would like to dedicate this film to the memory of Earthquake Martyrs who are now lying in the sea of mud called mass grave.

Produced by
F.U.
Cem Fakir

Narrated by
Güven Şener

Editing
Erdal Karasu

Camera
Cengiz Tapan
Barıs Tok

We would like to extend our warmest thanks to

Bahadır Gökçek
Mustafa Hindistan
Seda Koşar

for their contributions

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