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| Anger and Grief Simmer in Turkey a Year After Soma Mine Disaster | Anger and Grief Simmer in Turkey a Year After Soma Mine Disaster |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| ELMADERE, Turkey — Through the lace curtains of her window, Beyhan Yilmaz cannot help but see the raw gash of the new coal mine carved through the green hills near her village. She is stung by the sight. | ELMADERE, Turkey — Through the lace curtains of her window, Beyhan Yilmaz cannot help but see the raw gash of the new coal mine carved through the green hills near her village. She is stung by the sight. |
| “I used to run away to that hill and have picnics with my husband under the pine trees,” Ms. Yilmaz recalled, with tears trickling down her cheeks. “As if the fact that they destroyed that beauty wasn’t painful enough, now every time I look out the window, I am reminded of the hell where my husband burned to death.” | “I used to run away to that hill and have picnics with my husband under the pine trees,” Ms. Yilmaz recalled, with tears trickling down her cheeks. “As if the fact that they destroyed that beauty wasn’t painful enough, now every time I look out the window, I am reminded of the hell where my husband burned to death.” |
| Ms. Yilmaz, 26, is one of 10 women from Elmadere, in western Turkey, who were widowed by the deadliest industrial disaster in modern Turkish history, the explosion and fire that tore through a coal mine in the nearby town of Soma in May 2014, leaving 301 men dead. | Ms. Yilmaz, 26, is one of 10 women from Elmadere, in western Turkey, who were widowed by the deadliest industrial disaster in modern Turkish history, the explosion and fire that tore through a coal mine in the nearby town of Soma in May 2014, leaving 301 men dead. |
| The disaster led to protests in Soma and across Turkey that were broken up by the riot police using rubber bullets and water cannons. The anger here toward the government had barely receded a year later as the widows observed the grim anniversary. Families of victims say that no one has been held accountable and that they have been left to face the future on their own. | The disaster led to protests in Soma and across Turkey that were broken up by the riot police using rubber bullets and water cannons. The anger here toward the government had barely receded a year later as the widows observed the grim anniversary. Families of victims say that no one has been held accountable and that they have been left to face the future on their own. |
| “They promised us compensation, a house, and jobs, but we’ve seen nothing,” said another widow, Selma Ay, 30. She said she was still furious at President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for trivializing the disaster last year by referring to the deaths as “the fate of miners.” | “They promised us compensation, a house, and jobs, but we’ve seen nothing,” said another widow, Selma Ay, 30. She said she was still furious at President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for trivializing the disaster last year by referring to the deaths as “the fate of miners.” |
| Ms. Ay wondered, “What has he done since? Built himself a palace, and left us here to hopelessly drown in our sorrows,” referring to the $600 million presidential palace that opened in Ankara last October. | Ms. Ay wondered, “What has he done since? Built himself a palace, and left us here to hopelessly drown in our sorrows,” referring to the $600 million presidential palace that opened in Ankara last October. |
| Many of the miners came from agricultural villages in the region, where the traditional livelihoods of harvesting tobacco and raising livestock have faded in recent years as the governing Justice and Development Party has sought to open up and industrialize the economy. Coal quickly became essential for the growth of the country, producing electricity, jobs and heat for the poor, who were regularly given free bags of coal during election campaigns. | Many of the miners came from agricultural villages in the region, where the traditional livelihoods of harvesting tobacco and raising livestock have faded in recent years as the governing Justice and Development Party has sought to open up and industrialize the economy. Coal quickly became essential for the growth of the country, producing electricity, jobs and heat for the poor, who were regularly given free bags of coal during election campaigns. |
| The families of the fire victims say men were lured into mining with promises of job security, bank credit and pensions. They endured the harsh working conditions in the mines to give their families a better standard of living than farming had, families said. | The families of the fire victims say men were lured into mining with promises of job security, bank credit and pensions. They endured the harsh working conditions in the mines to give their families a better standard of living than farming had, families said. |
| They were betrayed by gross negligence in operating the mine, according to a report submitted by experts to the Soma Public Prosecutor’s Office in September. The report cited poor ventilation, gas masks that did not function, the absence of gas sensors and rescue chambers, and the presence of overly flammable equipment, among other lapses. | They were betrayed by gross negligence in operating the mine, according to a report submitted by experts to the Soma Public Prosecutor’s Office in September. The report cited poor ventilation, gas masks that did not function, the absence of gas sensors and rescue chambers, and the presence of overly flammable equipment, among other lapses. |
| “To call it an accident is sinful — it was coldblooded murder,” said Hatice Cakir, 46, a miner’s widow from Koseler, a village about 50 miles from Soma. | “To call it an accident is sinful — it was coldblooded murder,” said Hatice Cakir, 46, a miner’s widow from Koseler, a village about 50 miles from Soma. |
| Kayhan Inal, a spokesman for the Ministry of Labor, said the government has delivered on all its promises after the disaster. “We are paying monthly compensation to the families of the victims and have adopted a new law to improve conditions for miners and amend security regulations,” he said. “Any additional compensation is the responsibility of the mining company,” he added. | |
| For all that, though, men in the area are desperate to go back into the mines to work. | For all that, though, men in the area are desperate to go back into the mines to work. |
| “There is no option left here but to go underground — all the other work opportunities have dried up,” said Aykut Yilmaz, Ms. Yilmaz’s 23-year-old brother-in-law. | “There is no option left here but to go underground — all the other work opportunities have dried up,” said Aykut Yilmaz, Ms. Yilmaz’s 23-year-old brother-in-law. |
| Like many of the men in his village, Mr. Yilmaz dropped out because he could not bear the three-hour walk from his home to attend the nearest high school. Now, he says that he is afraid to work in a mine because of his brother’s death, and that he is unable to find any other job. | Like many of the men in his village, Mr. Yilmaz dropped out because he could not bear the three-hour walk from his home to attend the nearest high school. Now, he says that he is afraid to work in a mine because of his brother’s death, and that he is unable to find any other job. |
| “If our generation of schoolkids had been given school buses, more people would have graduated and been qualified to work in well-paid sectors outside of the mining industry,” Mr. Yilmaz said. | “If our generation of schoolkids had been given school buses, more people would have graduated and been qualified to work in well-paid sectors outside of the mining industry,” Mr. Yilmaz said. |
| The fire last year shut a major mine and cost thousands of surviving miners their jobs. Many of the victims’ grieving parents have been unable to work since then because of psychological and physical health issues. | The fire last year shut a major mine and cost thousands of surviving miners their jobs. Many of the victims’ grieving parents have been unable to work since then because of psychological and physical health issues. |
| In Elmadere, most of the villagers have sold their land to the new Polyak Eynez coal mine, typically getting a lump sum equivalent to about a year’s wages for a miner. But the families of the men killed in the Soma fire have resisted, saying they do not want to support the growth of the industry that killed their loved ones. | In Elmadere, most of the villagers have sold their land to the new Polyak Eynez coal mine, typically getting a lump sum equivalent to about a year’s wages for a miner. But the families of the men killed in the Soma fire have resisted, saying they do not want to support the growth of the industry that killed their loved ones. |
| The widows of the village support their immediate and extended families with their husbands’ life insurance stipends, which range from about $400 to about $700 a month, depending on how many children they had. Each family was also promised $83,000 in compensation, but none has been paid yet. | The widows of the village support their immediate and extended families with their husbands’ life insurance stipends, which range from about $400 to about $700 a month, depending on how many children they had. Each family was also promised $83,000 in compensation, but none has been paid yet. |
| Some of the widows have begun to work in orchards near the village, picking fruit for $11 a day, and are pooling their earnings to educate their children, so that they will not have to work in the mines. | Some of the widows have begun to work in orchards near the village, picking fruit for $11 a day, and are pooling their earnings to educate their children, so that they will not have to work in the mines. |
| Ms. Yilmaz said that she did farm work for months to help pay for a psychologist to treat her daughter, Ozge, 6, who became withdrawn after her father’s death and barely said a word for six months. “I broke my back picking tomatoes just to get my daughter to speak again,” Ms. Yilmaz said. | Ms. Yilmaz said that she did farm work for months to help pay for a psychologist to treat her daughter, Ozge, 6, who became withdrawn after her father’s death and barely said a word for six months. “I broke my back picking tomatoes just to get my daughter to speak again,” Ms. Yilmaz said. |
| On the anniversary of the fire, Ozge began to sing a joyful song and started skipping toward the convoy of cars waiting to take the families to the miners’ burial site. | On the anniversary of the fire, Ozge began to sing a joyful song and started skipping toward the convoy of cars waiting to take the families to the miners’ burial site. |
| “Going to the grave, going to see Daddy,” she sang with a beaming smile. | “Going to the grave, going to see Daddy,” she sang with a beaming smile. |
| But after riding for 10 minutes on a narrow dirt road, past the new mine, the dump trucks and the meadows, Ozge realized that she would not actually be able to see her father, and her face fell. | But after riding for 10 minutes on a narrow dirt road, past the new mine, the dump trucks and the meadows, Ozge realized that she would not actually be able to see her father, and her face fell. |
| At the graveyard, she followed the lead of her mother, grandmother and aunts, dropping to her knees before her father’s gravestone and weeping and keening in an agonized chorus, so loud that it blocked out the noise of construction at the mine. | At the graveyard, she followed the lead of her mother, grandmother and aunts, dropping to her knees before her father’s gravestone and weeping and keening in an agonized chorus, so loud that it blocked out the noise of construction at the mine. |
| One mother fainted at the service, and Ms. Yilmaz’s sister became ill and vomited. Ozge leaned into her father’s portrait, asking him to help. | One mother fainted at the service, and Ms. Yilmaz’s sister became ill and vomited. Ozge leaned into her father’s portrait, asking him to help. |
| The anguish turned to anger as the some of the mothers pounded the gravestones with their fists, crying out that the government was “the murderers who burnt our sons to ashes.” | The anguish turned to anger as the some of the mothers pounded the gravestones with their fists, crying out that the government was “the murderers who burnt our sons to ashes.” |
| Many of the women in Elmadere said they now depended on sedatives to get through their days. | Many of the women in Elmadere said they now depended on sedatives to get through their days. |
| “We never had much, but we had each other, and we were happy,” Ms. Yilmaz said, tracing her finger over the letters carved into her husband’s marble gravestone. “Every day without him feels like a different kind of hell.” | “We never had much, but we had each other, and we were happy,” Ms. Yilmaz said, tracing her finger over the letters carved into her husband’s marble gravestone. “Every day without him feels like a different kind of hell.” |