‘10,000 funerals’
According to Islamic traditions, the dead should be buried as soon as possible, if not immediately.
Speaking at the Kahramanmaras cemetery this week, the deputy head of Turkey’s religious affairs directorate described the difficulties in burying bodies recovered from the rubble, adding that rituals sometimes must be adapted to take account of their condition.
“No one should think that what is needed is not being done. Look here: our friends did about 10,000 burials. It is not possible to spend hours on each one, so the process is done faster.” official, Burhan Islayen said in an interview with Turkish broadcaster A Haber.
Since the quake, authorities have grappled with the problem of exhuming bodies and preparing them for burial, said Bulent Tekbiyokoglu, the governor of the city of Kırıkkale, who was visiting Pajarsık.
Ghasals, who prepare the bodies for burial as per Islamic rituals, were working in turn as hundreds of bodies were piled up, he said.
Some families have worked with crime scene investigators to identify their dead relatives.
At another cemetery in the town of Pajarsik, hundreds gathered for the funeral of Ismail and Selin Yavuztmaka and their two young daughters.
They were among hundreds of people believed to have died when the building complex called the Ronesans Residences or Renaissance Residences collapsed in the city of Antioch.
Ismail Yavuztmaka’s cousin, Ferhat, said he had loaded them into his car and after identifying the bodies brought them to Pajarsik for burial.
“That should have been the fate of the Ronasons contractor, not Ismail!” A woman screamed during the funeral.
“You loved my cooking. Ask for whatever food you want, I will prepare it for you right now,” said the woman, kneeling at the grave, her knees wet as she caressed the wet earth.
Many people are still waiting to receive the bodies of their relatives. On Friday, thousands of people across Turkey attended symbolic funerals for the dead who were still under the rubble.