Lets hope that the military can make some headway out of this and take back the government.
Soma Tragedy: Erdogan Faces Fall-Out From Mine Disaster
Across Turkey, the grief sparked by the recent mining disaster in Soma is spiralling into anti-government outrage. Prime Minister Erdogan could end up paying for his insensitive response to the tragedy if he decides to run for president in August.
The belongings of Asli Yildirim’s husband were returned to her in a blue garbage bag lying on the ground in front of her. She pulls his clothes from its cold plastic folds and presses them to her face.
“Let me smell him one last time,” she cries over and over again, pushing away her father, then her mother, and hugging the garments, blackened by smoke, to her chest. Her husband’s yellow rubber boots lie at her feet.
Then she passes out.
Asli Yildirim’s sisters and cousins bend over her, splashing her face with water from a garden hose. Don’t lose your mind, Asli, they tell her, or they’ll take away your children. The state will help you, they’ll give you money. You’re not alone, just because you’ve lost your husband, they say.
He’s one of Elmadere’s many fallen men. The women who lost their husbands in the Soma mine disaster last week have also lost their providers and their social status in the village. From now on, their children will be called orphans. The women will have no choice but to work in the fields as day laborers.
