When photographer Ogun Sever Okur was assisting the search and rescue teams in Turkey, walking through rubbles and corpses, he was also tying red balloons to metal wires in remembrance of the many children and childhood lost to the catastrophic earthquake of 7.8 magnitude that struck Turkey and Syria on Februrary 6.
And he continues to do so.
Even before our memories could fade out the smile of the child who came out of the rubbles after more than 72 hours of struggle in devastated Turkey, several aftershocks added to the debris, burying more children on the streets and on the foothills of the snow-capped mountains.
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Amid this, the members of Turkey-based OGUN ABİ çocuk derneği (roughly translating to Ogun's Children’s Association), also called Balloon Project, are climbing atop debris in a “last present to children”.
Witnessing children’s love for balloons, Ogun wanted to go beyond the ordinary fascination for balloons and do something for the children killed and affected by the disaster.
“I know how much children love balloons because I am a father and have seen how elated my children become at the sight of balloons. And when I walk amid the wreckage, in-between paths dotted with lifeless bodies of children, I cannot help but express love for them. And what better way to do that but with balloons which are red, the colour of love,” Ogun tells Outlook.
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But the balloons hung this time are not to mark joy or happiness but to mourn.
“Of course, we are extremely disturbed by what has been witnessed. Hence, this time when we hang the balloons, it is not for happiness, but for mourning. This time the balloons did not make us happy, they made us cry,” he adds.
Days after the first quake, another earthquake of 6.4 magnitude hit the country on February 20. The new tremors only added to the continued mounds of debris and discarded furniture that lined the dark, abandoned streets. This time, it was centred near the southern Turkish city of Antakya and was felt in Syria, Egypt and Lebanon. It was followed by a second 5.8-magnitude tremor.
The previous earthquake on February 6 took away more than 45,000 lives and forced the people into unprecedented despair and uncertainty while leaving behind 6,000-plus tremors.
Recalling the mournful memories of the sight of destruction, Ogun says that the “wreckage is everywhere”.
He continues, “At one time, I saw a mother distressed and crying frantically. The earthquake took away her own mother, who died under the rubble while holding her 1.5-year-old child. When the child's mother saw us, she begged us to take the child out. I was helpless, not sure whether they survived. So, all I could do was, hang a balloon there, later.”
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Ogun along with his team has hung over 1,500 balloons and wishes to continue doing so.
Earlier, speaking to BBC, he said, “We are still giving presents to children in Hatay but we wanted to fulfil our last duty to these angels and we are carrying out this activity with balloons.”
And while he aspires to reach the doors of every child’s home in the city with a balloon in his hand, he continues to search every wreck as if he is searching for his own child. He said, “I have entered dangerous wrecks and every time I see a toy laying desolated amid the ruins, my heart bleeds wondering what if they were mine…?”
