Voice of America, 99-08-18

Voice of America: Selected Articles Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Voice of America <gopher://gopher.voa.gov>

CONTENTS

[01] KOSOVO HEALTH (L ONLY) BY LISA SCHLEIN (GENEVA)

[02] U-S / SERB OPPOSITION (L-ONLY) BY KYLE KING (STATE DEPARTMENT)

[03] TURKEY/EARTHQUAKE ONITER (S-L) BY LAURIE KASSMAN (ISTANBUL)

[04] TURKEY - EARTHQUAKE (L) BY LAURIE KASSMAN (ISTANBUL)

[05] TURKEY - EARTHQUAKE (L UPDATE) BY LAURIE KASSMAN (IZMIT, TURKEY)

[06] TURKEY - OIL FIRE (L ONLY) BY LAURIE KASSMAN (ISMIT)

[07] U-S-QUAKE REACT (S) BY DAVID GOLLUST (WHITE HOUSE)

[08] EARTHQUAKE - TURKS (L) BY NICK SIMEONE (WASHINGTON)

[09] IZMIT ON-SCENE REPORT (L-ONLY) BY LAURIE KASSMAN (IZMIT, TURKEY)

[10] KASSMAN Q-AND-A, IZMIT (L-ONLY) BY LAURIE KASSMAN (IZMIT, TURKEY)

[11] RUSSIA - U-S ARMS BY PETER HEINLEIN (MOSCOW)

[12] RUSSIA / DAGESTAN (L-ONLY) BY PETER HEINLEIN (MOSCOW)

[13] RUSSIA / DAGESTAN (L UPDATE) BY PETER HEINLEIN (MOSCOW)

[14] N-Y ECON WRAP (S & L) BY BRECK ARDERY (NEW YORK)

[15] WEDNESDAY'S EDITORIALS BY ANDREW GUTHRIE (WASHINGTON)

[16] HORROR AND SYMPATHY OVER TURKISH QUAKE BY ANDREW GUTHRIE (WASHINGTON)

[01] KOSOVO HEALTH (L ONLY) BY LISA SCHLEIN (GENEVA)

INTRO: The World Health Organization, W-H-O, says people in Kosovo are at serious risk of outbreaks of major communicable diseases. Lisa Schlein in Geneva reports W-H-O officials say they have detected suspected cases of polio, hepatitis A, and hemorrhagic fever in Kosovo in recent days.

TEXT: The World Health Organization says it is urgent to rebuild public health systems in Kosovo to contain the spread of communicable diseases. The agency says it is particularly concerned about the spread of polio, measles, and other childhood diseases. This is because immunization rates in Kosovo during the past four years have been very low. A 1996 study by UNICEF, the U-N Children's Fund, showed only 53 percent of two year olds in Kosovo had received the full vaccination protection against diseases such as polio and measles. W-H-O Medical Officer Maire Connolly --just returned from Kosovo -- says the recent detection of one case of suspected polio in a three-year old boy is particularly worrying. She says the risk of a major outbreak is high if the polio virus returns to the area.

[02] U-S / SERB OPPOSITION (L-ONLY) BY KYLE KING (STATE DEPARTMENT)

INTRO: U-S officials say they believe the vast majority of the Serbian people want Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to resign. And they are urging the fractious Serbian opposition to act in a unified way to try to achieve that goal. From the State Department, V-O-A's Kyle King reports. Text: U-S officials say they believe as much as 70 percent of the Serb population would like to see Mr. Milosevic step down. A goal the United States shares, but has so far been powerless to do anything about. U-S officials say it is no secret that they have met with key Serbian opposition leaders, but they acknowledge continuing disputes and rivalries have hurt the opposition cause. State Department spokesman James Rubin says officials have used the meetings to urge unity.

[03] TURKEY/EARTHQUAKE ONITER (S-L) BY LAURIE KASSMAN (ISTANBUL)

INTRO: Search and rescue operations continue more than 40 hours after a massive earthquake devastated western Turkey. More than 38-hundred people have been killed in the quake and the death toll is rising. Thousands more are still missing. Correspondent Laurie Kassman reports from Istanbul that international rescue teams and medical experts have flown into Turkey to help.

TEXT: Hospitals in the stricken areas are bursting at the seams with emergency cases. Doctors and nurses are working around the clock treating the injured - mostly broken arms and legs and head wounds. At one hospital alone in the industrial city of Izmet - near the epicenter of the earthquake - doctors treated more than 14-hundred patients in the first 30 hours after the quake hit. Soldiers, rescue teams and volunteers continue tearing away the rubble from collapsed buildings in the hopes of finding survivors. As the hours tick by, their hopes fade. A specialized Greek team of rescue workers spent more than 20 hours at one site on the outskirts of Istanbul searching for a mother and her two daughters. In the end, only the body of the 22-year-old daughter was found and removed from the rubble.

[04] TURKEY - EARTHQUAKE (L) BY LAURIE KASSMAN (ISTANBUL)

INTRO: Rescue operations continue in northwestern Turkey where a massive earthquake has already claimed more than two-thousand lives. The death toll from the Tuesday tremor is expected to rise. More than ten- thousand were reported injured, many critically. Correspondent Laurie Kassman reports from Istanbul many residents there spent the night outside, fearful of another strong tremor.

TEXT: Istanbul was spared most of the damage and death but many residents were not taking any chances. They preferred to spend the night camped outside on any available open space-in grassy parks or on the sidewalks. Makeshift tents and blankets were spread in Taksim Square in the heart of the city's tourist area. Mehmet and his three brothers sat together on a small patch of grass and talked about how lucky they were to be alive. The 26 year old comes from Adana in southern Turkey where a strong earthquake last year claimed more than 150 lives. He understands the tragedy and trauma of an earthquake.

[05] TURKEY - EARTHQUAKE (L UPDATE) BY LAURIE KASSMAN (IZMIT, TURKEY)

INTRO: Rescue operations continue in the aftermath of Turkey's worst earthquake in nearly a century. The tremor, which registered more than seven on the Richter scale, has claimed more than 35-hundred lives and the death toll is expected to rise. More than ten thousand have been injured. V-O-A Correspondent Laurie Kassman reports from Izmit - the epicenter of the quake.

TEXT:

[06] TURKEY - OIL FIRE (L ONLY) BY LAURIE KASSMAN (ISMIT)

INTRO: One day after a massive earthquake hit northwest Turkey, an oil refinery in Ismit - at the epicenter of the quake - is still burning. Firefighters are trying to bring it under control. More than two-thousand people are reported killed following Tuesday's quake. More than 10-thousand are reported injured. The death toll is expected to rise. Details from correspondent Laurie Kassman in Ismit Turkey.

TEXT: Firefighters are trying to contain a refinery fire from the ground and the air. The refinery's general manager, Husamettin Danus, says the firefighters have been working continuously in hopes of containing the flames.

[07] U-S-QUAKE REACT (S) BY DAVID GOLLUST (WHITE HOUSE)

[08] EARTHQUAKE - TURKS (L) BY NICK SIMEONE (WASHINGTON)

INTRO: A member of Turkey's parliament is predicting the death toll from Tuesday's devastating earthquake could go as high as six thousand. Correspondent Nick Simeone reports members of the Turkish community in the United States are urgently trying to contact relatives back home.

TEXT: For Turks living abroad, as worrisome as the earthquake is not being able to know if their relatives survived it. Phone lines into Turkey are jammed. In Queens, New York, The Hemsin Turkish Restaurant is a gathering spot for the city's Turkish community. It took employee Mustasa Aktay two days and about 100 tries to get a call through to his family at home. He learned the neighborhood where he was born was hard hit but that his relatives made it through the quake alive.

[09] IZMIT ON-SCENE REPORT (L-ONLY) BY LAURIE KASSMAN (IZMIT, TURKEY)

INTRO: V-O-A correspondent Laurie Kassman visited Izmit, Turkey where she watched as people searching for survivors worked to clear rubble from a collapsed apartment building. She filed this report.

TEXT: The bulldozer is pushing away rubble from what was once an eight-story high apartment building, which now is almost as flat as the unleavened bread that a young boy is munching on nearby. The neighbors are standing around here mesmerized by the operation, hoping that they may find someone alive inside. The neighbors say they have not seen most of the people who lived in the apartment building, where at least several dozen families lived. Looking at the rubble, I can see some empty pots, a broken dish, a picture frame hanging precariously off the edge of what was probably once the timbers that held up the apartment itself. It's now a pile of broken stones, mortar and bricks. A few men are scrambling over the pile trying to pull away some of the larger rocks as the bulldozer continues pushing the rubble to the side. The men are searching with their hands for any sign of life. Some of the neighbors are trying to retrieve a few items to save in case someone does reappear. Ironically, the two buildings standing just across the street from this pile of rubble are unfinished. One six story building is cracked at several points; another eight story building, which seems to be less damaged with no windows in it has a "for sale" sign on the outside. (Signed)
NEB/LMK/GE/KL 18-Aug-1999 08:42 AM EDT (18-Aug-1999 1242 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America

[10] KASSMAN Q-AND-A, IZMIT (L-ONLY) BY LAURIE KASSMAN (IZMIT, TURKEY)

INTRO: V-O-A correspondent Laurie Kassman in Izmit, Turkey describes some of what she saw in the city, which was one of the areas hardest hit by an earthquake on Tuesday. She spoke with London editor Gary Edquist.

TEXT: (Laurie, could you describe what you have seen today as a result of the earthquake in Turkey?) I have just visited the state hospital here in Izmit, where doctors say that since the earthquake, which happened probably 40 hours ago, they have treated more than 14-hundred injuries. And dozens more keep pouring in by the minute. The doctors say most of the injuries are orthopedic, that is they are broken legs, broken arms, skull fractures, women, children, older men and women, just all sorts of people. And they are bringing in a lot of people today who seem to have been pulled from the wreckage; they've managed to survive. The hospital only has 300 beds, so they are strained to the limit. There are doctors sewing up lesser (less serious) wounds out in the courtyard under a makeshift tent. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit visited the hospital just now. He looks visibly stunned by the magnitude of the earthquake. He described it as the worst disaster in Turkish history, and has welcomed the outpouring of foreign assistance. We have seen rescue teams trying to get under the rubble to see if there are any more survivors, but they are mostly volunteers from the neighborhoods; they don't have the expertise of rescue teams that are coming in from outside the country or other parts of the country. So doctors say they may be doing more harm than good by trying to break through the rubble by pulling stones off with their hands and hammering away to break up the larger pieces of concrete. It's very difficult to know how much longer they can wait to see if there are survivors. Really, time is running out. Doctors at the hospital are fearful of the outbreak of epidemics, typhoid or cholera, because of the disruption in water supplies. Doctors here in Izmit at the state hospital say they actually sent patients who were in the hospital (before the earthquake) back to their homes so they could treat the emergency cases coming in from the earthquake. (Laurie, can you tell if there is an organized from outside authorities - for instance doctors from outside the country - to help the victims?) There are teams coming in already from Japan and Switzerland and Germany, there is a United States team coming in. Neighboring countries have sent in doctors and rescue teams, but it is basically hit and miss (i.e. erratic), because the damage is so widespread that it is hard to say where they can best locate the possible survivors. And what we have seen today in the neighborhoods of Izmit city are neighbors volunteering and people coming in with sledge hammers and a bulldozer or a crane trying to just clear the rubble and hopefully find survivors. (Authorities have evacuated a large area of Izmit that is near the oil refinery, which is reported to be burning furiously. Do you see evidence of that fire, Laurie?) Actually, I am probably a couple of kilometers away, but I can see the plumes of thick, black smoke pouring into the sky, hundreds of meters into the sky. Fortunately, the wind is blowing the smoke out over the sea and not toward the city. But earlier I spoke with the general manager of the refinery who said they have teams both on the ground and in the air trying to basically suffocate the flames in the tanks by pouring water and foam on the flames (and) on the tanks to contain the fires to keep it from igniting other tanks in the refinery. But as you say, the Mayor (of Izmit) just after the fires broke out at the oil refinery evacuated about a five square kilometer area. (Are the roads open, or are they clogged with traffic?) Definitely clogged with traffic. They are clogged with traffic of rescue teams and ambulances trying to get to the more seriously damaged areas, and also relatives and friends trying to get to the downed and collapsed buildings to see if they can have any word of their friends and loved ones. (Signed)
NEB/LMK/GE/ENE 18-Aug-1999 11:10 AM LOC (18-Aug-1999 1510 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America

[11] RUSSIA - U-S ARMS BY PETER HEINLEIN (MOSCOW)

INTRO: The United States and Russia have opened a new series of strategic arms control negotiations. The first round of the so-called "START" talks was held behind closed doors in Moscow. From the Russian capital, VOA's Peter Heinlein reports negotiators are hoping to conclude a new START-three arms treaty before President Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin leave office.

TEXT: The opening session of these mid-level talks was held at a private Russian foreign ministry mansion, away from the prying eyes and ears of reporters. The head of the U-S delegation, Undersecretary of State John Holum, told VOA the two days of talks had been businesslike. These preliminary discussions are being seen as the first delicate step down what could be a long and difficult road. The goal is a new START-three arms accord that would limit each side's nuclear arsenal to as little as two-thousand warheads. The process is complicated by the past refusal of Russia's lower house of parliament, the Duma, to ratify the 1993 START-two treaty. On top of that, the United States recently announced it wants to revise the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty. That announcement raised howls of protest among Russian lawmakers already concerned about what many see as an attempt by Washington to dominate the post- Cold war world. Analyst Alexander Pikayev of the Moscow Carnegie center says these new arms talks could go a long way toward easing the fears that still exist in Russia's political and military establishments.

[12] RUSSIA / DAGESTAN (L-ONLY) BY PETER HEINLEIN (MOSCOW)

INTRO: Senior Russian security officials have flown to the northern Caucasus as government troops battled Islamic rebels in the mountains of Dagestan for a 12th day. We hear from V-O-A's Peter Heinlein in Moscow that Russian forces are reporting significant gains in the latest fighting.

TEXT: A defense ministry statement says Russian troops Wednesday took control of a strategic mountain pass linking the combat zone in Dagestan with the rebels' staging area in nearby Chechnya. The statement said government forces had blocked the pass using missile and artillery strikes, then mined the roads to keep rebels from removing the rubble. That news came as Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev arrived in the Dagestani capital, Makhachkala, to oversee the anti-insurgency operation.

[13] RUSSIA / DAGESTAN (L UPDATE) BY PETER HEINLEIN (MOSCOW)

INTRO: At least eight Russian soldiers have been killed in a day of heavy fighting with Islamic rebels in the mountains of Dagestan. V-O-A Moscow correspondent Peter Heinlein reports the casualties came as Russia's top defense officials arrived in the region to direct the anti-insurgency campaign.

TEXT: Deputy Interior Minister Valeri Fyodorov told reporters in the Dagestani capital, Makhachkala, (Wednesday) that his forces had suffered heavy losses during an attempt to storm the rebel-held village of Tando near the border with Chechnya.

[14] N-Y ECON WRAP (S & L) BY BRECK ARDERY (NEW YORK)

INTRO: Stock prices in the United States were down today (Wednesday) as late-session selling wiped out gains in the technology sector. V-O-A Business Correspondent Breck Ardery reports from New York.

TEXT: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 10- thousand-991, down 125 points, more than one percent. The Standard and Poor's 500 index closed at 13- hundred-32, down 11 points. The NASDAQ index lost about one-half percent. Analysts say there was some profit-taking after the recent stock market rallies. In addition, many traders are cautious about making new commitments until after the governors of the U-S central bank decide whether, and by how much, to increase short- term interest rates. They meet next Tuesday. Despite the general downward move in stocks, technology issues were strong for most of the day, sparked by a better-than-expected earnings report from the Compaq Computer Company. Many internet-related issues were stronger after a brokerage house report which predicted that sales on the Internet will skyrocket in the upcoming Christmas holiday shopping season.

[15] WEDNESDAY'S EDITORIALS BY ANDREW GUTHRIE (WASHINGTON)

INTRO: Early reaction to the devastating earthquake in Turkey tops the editorial columns of several U-S dailies at mid week. Other topics include the South Korea economy showing signs of recovery; the China- Taiwan dispute; a changing Japan; U-S defense policy in general; the beginning of the presidential race, earlier than ever; and a farewell to a major U-S labor leader. Now, here with some excerpts and a closer look is ___________ and today's editorial digest.

TEXT: Several major dailies are reacting with horror to the killer quake that struck Northwestern Turkey Tuesday. From the U-S city that has suffered its own share of destruction from such temblors, "The San Francisco Chronicle" laments:

VOICE: The seismic catastrophe in Turkey was a reminder that the Bay Area also sits on shaky ground and is susceptible to the same tragedies suffered in yesterday's earthquake. As evening fell, the government . reported the death toll at two-thousand-11 and the number of injured at 10-thousand-764, but the casualty figures were sure to increase as reports filtered in from Turkey's hard-hit western and central regions. . Officials reported no visible damage to Istanbul's historic sites . But the toll of human suffering mounted into the night with thousands still buried and powerful aftershocks rattling the ruins.

TEXT: From the other side of the nation, `The Boston Globe" reflects on how man's living patterns make such events even worse.

VOICE: Helicopter shots from Istanbul, a city of 12-million, and other centers showed block after block of apartment and business complexes collapsed in heaps as if they were made of cardboard. The earthquake's victims in the cities were not wallowed up by trenches split open in the earth's crust. .Although cities have their own dangers, we somehow feel they are less vulnerable to the forces of nature. From childhood we learn that brick houses are harder to blow down, and our mammoth urban structures are stronger still. . We should know better, of course. . Too often nature is not respected by those who build, especially for the poor.

TEXT: Lastly, on the quake, today's "New York Times" takes a humanistic approach, sympathizing with the country and its people for the great loss.

VOICE: There is no immediate consolation for the victims of the earthquake . It was, in a way, the worst possible combination of circumstances, the most brutally powerful quake on record in the area, striking at night in an urban region that appears to have built well beyond its capacity to respond to a civil disaster on this scale. But such a destructive earthquake, originating so close to a population center, would surpass the ability of any government to respond swiftly enough to limit the immediate loss of life. . some of the lessons that will be drawn from this earthquake will be drawn by engineers and geologists, who will extract the only true meaning that an earthquake possesses. The remaining lessons, personal ones, will be drawn by humans who witness, some for the first time, the limits of suffering and strength.

TEXT: We move to some good news, at least in the opinion of "The Los Angeles Times", from the capital of South Korea.

VOICE: Stocks markets across Southeast Asia have been rebounding, raising hopes that the region's stricken economies are on the mend. But in the short term the gyrating markets are hardly reliable indicators. The real sign of change is coming from South Korea, where Daewoo, an industrial behemoth once considered too big to fail, is being dismantled by its creditors and sold for scrap. . Like all of the nation's corporate powerhouses, Daewoo flourished on cheap labor, government backing, and economic power that stifled competition. Daewoo's case has shattered the notion that the chaebols [business conglomerate] are invincible. Its breakup is the most convincing sign yet that Seoul has the courage to undertake reforms once considered unthinkable.

TEXT: "The New York Times", while pleased that the government finally had the courage not to bail out the giant corporation, is concerned about one aspect of the selloff.

VOICE: As Daewoo is broken up, it is virtually certain that the company's assets will prove to be worth less than the huge debt, estimated at around 50-billion [dollars], that it has built up. That means losses for creditors, and it is important that those losses be fairly shared. So far, however, foreign creditors have been largely kept in the dark while domestic creditors -- many of them controlled by the government - - have seemed to have better information and more influence. [South] Korea's reputation will be hurt if the process of dismembering Daewoo is not a fair one to all creditors.

TEXT: Still in Asian affairs, "The Houston Chronicle" is still discussing the tension between Taiwan and China and the prospect of U-S military intervention in defense of the Chinese island, should China attack.

VOICE: A certain ambiguity, as in how far the United States might actually go to protect Taiwan in the event of a military assault by the People's Republic of China, has served its purpose in U-S policy. But there is a time for ambiguity and a time for stronger clarity. With tensions across the Taiwan Strait running high again, it is downright scary to read a Los Angeles Times report that Chinese officials were making the rounds in Washington last week asking what the U-S response might be to some form of Chinese military action. . the Clinton administration needs to be very loud and clear, just so there is no misunderstanding that could lead needlessly to bloodshed.

TEXT: A shift away from the pacifism that has guided Japanese foreign and military policy since World War Two is noted in today's "Miami Herald" which says in part:

VOICE: The foundation for a stronger Japan is being laid today. It is a change that Americans should welcome, not fear. Japan today is an economic powerhouse, having devoted itself almost entirely to growth and development after the war while the United States provided for its defense. But change began two-years ago when the United States and Japan, for the first time since the war, agreed to extend their security alliance. The agreement allows Japan to expand its role in defense operations outside its borders. Although the changes are limited to logistical, search-and-rescue and inspection operations, they maybe a start of an erosion of Japan's pacifism. . Considering the increasing belligerence of its neighbors, especially threats from North Korea, it makes sense for Japan to rethink its security arrangements and to move toward assuming a bigger role in its own defense.

TEXT: "The Chicago Tribune also has some thoughts on the topic, and criticizes the secrecy attached to the missile defense aspect of the U-S Japanese alliance.

VOICE: "Just what is going on here?" . That question needs to be asked of this administration now. Congress has been remiss in not being more inquisitive. This week, the United States persuaded Japan to throw its political weight, technological know-how and a few-hundred-million-dollars behind multi-year research on a .a system that could knock down an incoming missile fired by a rogue state like North Korea. But exact details of the program - - specifically its cost -- were kept secret, supposedly at the request of the Japanese. What possible U-S national interest is there in such secrecy? In fact, the U-S ought to be out front in articulating, clearly and persuasively, our nuclear defense policy. Would the Japanese allow a limited missile-defense system, which they helped to develop, to be deployed in Taiwan?

TEXT: And that concludes this sampling of editorial comment from today's U-S press.
NEB/ANG/RAE 18-Aug-1999 12:14 PM LOC (18-Aug-1999 1614 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America

[16] HORROR AND SYMPATHY OVER TURKISH QUAKE BY ANDREW GUTHRIE (WASHINGTON)

INTRO: One of the most destructive earthquakes in recent years has hit Northwestern Turkey. As the death toll mounts and world rescue workers descend on the scene, the U-S press is commiserating with the Turks. We get a sampling of early reaction now from _____________in today's U-S Opinion Roundup.

TEXT: No place in the United States is more sensitive to the danger and destruction of earthquakes than California. Many California dailies reacted quickly to the disaster that has struck Istanbul, Izmit and surrounding cities and towns along the Sea of Marmara. We go first to the Orange County Register in the area directly south of Los Angeles, where from Santa Ana, the paper writes, under the headline "Helping Turkey:"

VOICE: We in Southern California know something about earthquakes in populated areas. Scientists may be pretty sure there's a "big one" coming sometime soon, but they can't yet predict the day or the hour, so the `quakes almost always catch us at least somewhat unawares, leaving destruction, injury and sometimes death in their wake. But even veterans of the 1933 earthquake haven't seen anything like the shaker that hit the Turkish industrial city of Izmit, some 90 kilometers east of Istanbul on Monday. The 7-point-8 magnitude quake destroyed hundreds of buildings and with each new update the estimates of those killed and injured increases. . Whatever the final figure, no locality, no matter how well prepared, has the capacity to do everything as quickly as possible. Various governments, including ours, will help. But the more agencies that can help the better. There's not much you as a citizen can do to increase government help. But you can donate to the American Red Cross, which already had 25- thousand "comfort kits" (toothpaste, comb, toothbrush, soap, etc.) on the way to Turkey . Americans are at their best and most generous when they hear about disasters overseas, reflecting the natural desire of free people in a free society to help those in distress or trouble. We hope Orange County demonstrates that generosity now to the people of Turkey.

TEXT: In a city and region, devastated by a huge earthquake, and resulting fire in 1906, and which has suffered periodic damage since, The San Francisco Chronicle laments:

VOICE: The seismic catastrophe in Turkey was a reminder that the Bay Area also sits on shaky ground and is susceptible to the same tragedies suffered in yesterday's earthquake. As evening fell, the government . reported the death toll at two-thousand-and-eleven and the number of injured at ten-thousand-764, but the casualty figures were sure to increase as reports filtered in from Turkey's hard-hit western and central regions. . Officials reported no visible damage to Istanbul's historic sites . But the toll of human suffering mounted into the night with thousands still buried and powerful aftershocks rattling the ruins.

TEXT: From the other side of the nation, The Boston Globe reflects on how man's living patterns make such events even worse.

VOICE: One striking aspect of the Turkish tragedy is how urban it is. Helicopter shots from Istanbul, a city of 12 million, and other centers showed block after block of apartment and business complexes collapsed in heaps as if they were made of cardboard. The earthquake's victims in the cities were not swallowed up by trenches split open in the earth's crust. They were crushed by steel and concrete - manmade artifacts shaken from the perches men had to confidently given them. Although cities have their own dangers, we somehow feel they are less vulnerable to the forces of nature. From childhood we learn that brick houses are harder to blow down, and our mammoth urban structures are stronger still. . We should know better, of course. . Too often nature is not respected by those who build, especially for the poor.

TEXT: Lastly, The New York Times expresses sympathy for the many dead and for their surviving families, but also makes some points:

VOICE: There is no immediate consolation for the victims of the earthquake . It was, in a way, the worst possible combination of circumstances, the most brutally powerful quake on record in the area striking at night in an urban region that appears to have built well beyond its capacity to respond to a civil disaster on this scale. But such a destructive earthquake, originating so close to a population center, would surpass the ability of any government to respond swiftly enough to limit the immediate loss of life. . Some of the lessons that will be drawn from this earthquake will be drawn by engineers and geologists, who will extract the only true meaning that an earthquake possesses. The remaining lessons, personal ones, will be drawn by humans who witness, some for the first time, the limits of suffering and strength.

TEXT: On that note from The New York Times, we conclude this sampling of reaction to the devastating earthquake in Turkey.
NEB/ANG/KL 18-Aug-1999 13:26 PM EDT (18-Aug-1999 1726 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America

Voice of America: Selected Articles Directory - Previous Article - Next Article